
J 




Class 

Book_^____ 



CGEQilGHX BEPOSOi 



THE ROSICRUCIAN 
COSMO-CONCEPTION 

OR 

CHRISTIAN OCCULT 
SCIENCE 

AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE UPON 

MAN'S PAST EVOLUTION, PRESENT CONSTITU- 
TION AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 

BY 

MAX HEINDEL 

"Prove All Things"— Paul 



FIRST EDITION 



PRICE. ONE DOLLAR 



ROSICRUCIAN FELLOWSHIP 
POSTOFFICE BOX 1802, SEATTLE, WASH.' 



INDEPENDENT BOOK CO. 
18-26 VAN BUREN STREET, CHICAGO, ILL. 



-^^ 






Copyright 1909 

BY 
MAX HEINDEL 

All rights including translation reserved. 

Permission to copy or translate will be readily given upon application 

to Author. 



M. A. DONOHnE & CO. 
PRINTERS, BINDERS, 
PUBLISHERS, CHICAOO 



GI.A251754 



To my valued friend, DR. RUDOLPH 
STEINER, in grateful recognition of much val- 
uable information received; and to my friend, 
DR. ALMA VON BRANDIS, in heartfelt 
appreciation of the inestimable influence for 
soul-growth she has excercised in my life. 



A WOED TO THE WISE. 

The founder of the Christian Religion stated an occult 
maxim when He said: "Whosoever shall not receive the 
kingdom of God as a little child shall not enter therein" 
(Mark x: 15). All occultists recognize the far-reaching 
importance of this teaching of Christ, and endeavor to 
"live" it day by day. 

When a new philosophy is presented to the world it is 
met in different ways by different people. 

One person will grasp with avidity any new philosophical 
effort in an endeavor to ascertain how far it supports his 
own ideas. To such an one the philosophy itself is of 
minor importance. Its prime value will be its vindication 
of HIS ideas. If the work comes up to expectation in that 
respect, he will enthusiastically adopt it and cling to it 
with a most unreasoning partisanship ; if not, he will prob- 
ably lay the book down in disgust and disappointment, 
feeling as if the author had done him an injury. 

Another adopts an attitude of skepticism as soon as he 
discovers that it contains something which he has not 
previously read, heard, or originated in his own thought. 
He would probably resent as extremely unjustified the 
accusation that his mental attitude is the acme of self- 
satisfaction and intolerance; such is nevertheless the case; 
and thus he shuts his mind to any truth which may possibly 
be hidden in that which he off-hand rejects. 

Both these classes stand in their own light. "Set" ideas 
render them impervious to rays of truth. "A little child" 

5 



6 A WORD TO THE WISE 

is the very opposite of its elders in that respect. It is not 
imbued with an overwhelming sense of superior knowledge, 
nor does it feel compelled to look wise or to hide its 
nescience of any subject by a smile or a sneer. It is frankly 
ignorant, unfettered by preconceived opinions and therefore 
eminently teachable. It takes everything with that beauti- 
ful attitude of trust which we have designated "child-like 
faith," wherein there is not the shadow of a doubt. There 
the child holds the teaching it receives until proven or 
disproven. 

In all occult schools the pupil is first taught to forget 
all else when a new teaching is being given, to allow neither 
pfeference nor prejudice to govern, but to keep the mind 
in a state of calm, dignified waiting. As skepticism will 
blind us to truth in the most effective manner, so this calm, 
trustful attitude of the mind will allow the intuition, or 
"teaching from within," to become aware of the truth con- 
tained in the proposition. That is the only way to culti- 
vate an absolutely certain perception of truth. 

The pupil is not required to believe off-hand that a 
given object which he has observed to be white, is really 
black, when such a statement is made to him ; but he must 
cultivate an attitude of mind which "believeth all things" 
as possible. That will allow him to put by for the time 
being even what is generally considered "established 
facts," and investigate if perchance there be another 
viewpoint hitherto unobserved by him whence the object 
referred to would appear black. Indeed, he would not 
allow himself to look upon anything as ''an established 
fact" for he realizes thoroughly the importance of keeping 
his mind in the fluidal state of adaptahility which charac- 
terizes the little child. He realizes in every fibre of his 
being that "now we see through a glass, darkly," and 



A WORD TO THE WISE 7 

Ajax-like he is ever on the alert, yearning for **Light, 
more Light." 

The enormous advantage of such an attitude of mind 
when investigating any given subject, object or idea must 
be apparent. Statements which appear positively and 
unequivocally contradictory, which have caused an immense 
amount of feeling among the advocates of opposite sides, 
may nevertheless be capable of perfect reconciliation, as 
shown in one such instance mentioned in the present work. 
The bond of concord is only discovered by the open mind, 
however, and though the present work may be found to 
differ from others, the writer would bespeak an impartial 
hearing as the basis of subsequent judgment. If the book 
is "weighed and found wanting," the writer will have no 
complaint. He only fears a hasty judgment based upon 
lack of knowledge of the system he advocates — a hearing 
wherein the judgment is "wanting" in consequence of 
having been denied an impartial "weighing." He would 
further submit, that the only opinion worthy of the one 
who expresses it must be based upon knowledge. 

As a further reason for care in judgment we suggest 
that to many it is exceedingly difficult to retract a hastily 
expressed opinion. Therefore it is urged that the reader 
withhold all expressions of either praise or blame until 
study of the work has reasonably satisfied him of its merit 
or demerit. 

The Eosicrucian Cosmo-conception is not dogmatic, 
neither does it appeal to any other authority than the 
reason of the student. It is not controversial, but is sent 
forth in the hope that it may help to clear some of the 
difficulties which have beset the minds of students of the 
deeper philosophies in the past. In order to avoid serious 
misunderstanding, it should be firmly impressed upon the 



g A WOKD TO THE WISE 

mind of the student, however, that there is no infallible 
revelation of this complicated subject, which includes 
everything under the sun and above it also. 

An infallible exposition would predicate omniscience 
upon the part of the writer, and even the Elder Brothers 
tell us that they are sometimes at fault in their judgment, 
so a book which shall say the last word on the World- 
Mystery is out oi the question, and the writer of the present 
work does not pretend to give aught but the most ele- 
mentary teachings of the Kosicrucians. 

The Eosicrucian Brotherhood has the most far-reaching, 
the most logical conception of the World- Mystery of which 
title writer has gained any knowledge during the many 
years he has devoted exclusively to the study of this 
subject. So far as he has been able to investigate, their 
teachings have been found in accordance with facts as he 
knows them. Yet he is convinced that the Eosicrusian 
Cosmo-conception is far from being the last word on the 
subject ; that as we advance greater vistas of truth will open 
to us and make clear many things which we now "see 
through a glass, darkly.'' At the same time he firmly be- 
lieves that all other philosophies of the future will follow 
the same main lines, for they appear to be absolutely true. 

In view of the foregoing it will be plain that this book 
is not considered by the writ-er as the Alpha and Omega, 
the ultimate of occult knowledge, and even though it is 
entitled "The Eosicrucian Cosmo-conception," the writer 
desires to strongly emphasize that it is not to be under- 
stood as a "faith once for all delivered" to the Eosicrucians 
by the founder of the Order or by any other individual. 
It is emphatically stated that this work embodies only the 
tvriters understanding of the Rosicrucian teachings con- 
cerning the World- Mystery, strengthened by his personal 



A WORD TO THE WISE 9 

investigations of the inner Worlds, the ante-natal and post- 
mortem states of man, etc. The responsibility which de- 
volves upon one who wittingly or unwittingly leads others 
astray is clearly realized by the writer, and he wishes to 
guard himself as far as possible against that contingency, 
and also to guard others against the possibility of going 
wrong inadvertently. 

What is said in this work is therefore to be accepted or 
rejected by the reader according to his own discretion. All 
.diligence has been used in trying to understand the teach- 
ing; great pains have been taken to put it into words that 
shall be most easily understood. For that reason only one 
term has been used throughout the work to convey each 
idea. The same word will have the same meaning where- 
ever used. When any word descriptive of an idea is first 
used, the clearest definition possible to the writer is given. 
None but English terms and the simplest language have 
been emploj^ed. The writer has constantly endeavored to 
give as exact and definite descriptions of the subject under 
consideration as possible; to eliminate all ambiguity and 
to make everything clear. How far he has succeeded must 
be left to the student to judge ; but having diligently used 
every possible endeavor to convey the teaching, he feels 
compelled to guard also against the possibility of this work 
being taken as an authoritative statement of the Rosicru- 
cian teachings. Neglect of this precaution might give 
undue weight to this work in the minds of some students. 
That would not be fair to the Brotherhood nor to the 
reader. It would have a tendency to throw the responsi- 
bility upon the Brotherhood for the mistakes which must 
occur in this as in all other human works. Hence the above 
warning. 

There is an Indian story which says that anyone who has 



10 A WORD TO THE WISE 

two semi-circular lines on the palm-side of the outer joint 
of the thumb "carries a grain of rice with him." 
They assert that such an one will always be well 
received, hospitably treated and befriended wherever he 
goes. The writer has the mark mentioned, and the prog- 
nostication has been marvelously true in his case. Friends 
have met him everywhere and have treated him in such a 
way that he has been literally overwhelmed with kindness 
at every turn. So also in the work upon this book. Dr. 
von Brandis furnished the means whereby he first came . 
into contact with the Eosicrucian teachings. Kingsmill 
Commander and Mrs. J. Brewster loyally helped him in a 
literary sense, Mrs. M. E. Eath Merrill and Miss Allene 
Merrill executed a number of the drawings, and Wm. M. 
Patterson has given to the writer not only personal services 
but financial aid to enable him to publish at cost of print- 
ing and handling. This work has been produced for 
Love's sake. No one connected with it from first to last 
has received or will receive a penny of recompense. All 
have given freely of time and money. Therefore the writer 
wishes to express his heartfelt gratitude to them all, and 
the earnest hope that they may find other and greater 
opportunities for the exercise of unselfish service. 

Max Heindel. 



LIST OF CONTENTS. 

PART I. 

Man's Constitution and Present Method of Development. 

Frontispiece, Diagram 16, The Lord's Prayer. 

A Word to the Wise ^ 5 

Introduction 17 

Chapter I. The Visible and Invisible Worlds 24 

Chemical Region of the Physical World 29 

Etheric Region of the Physical World 34 

The Desire World 38 

The World of Thought 48 

Diagram 1. The Material World a Reverse Reflection 

of the Spiritual Worlds 52 

Diagram 2. The Seven Worlds 54 

Chapter II. The Four Kingdoms 56 

Diagram 3. The Vehicles of the Four Kingdoms 73 

Diagram 4. The Consciousness of the Four Kingdoms . . 74 

Chapter III. Man and the Method of Evolution. 

Activities of Life ; Memory and Soul-growth 87 

The Constitution of the Seven-fold Man 88 

Diagram 5. The Three-fold Spirit, the Three-fold Body 

and the Three-fold Soul 95 

Death and Purgatory 96 

Diagram SVo. The Silver Cord 98 

The Borderland 112 

The First Heaven 113 

The Second Heaven 121 

The Third Heaven 129 

Preparations for Rebirth 133 

Birth of the Dense Body 139 

Birth of the Vital Body and Growth 141 

Birth of the Desire Body and Puberty 14^ 

Birth of the Mind and Majority 142 

The Blood; the Vehicle of the Ego 143 

Chapter TV. Rebirth and the Law of Consequence 147 

Wine as a Factor in Evolution 165 

A Remarkable Story 172 

11 



l^ CONTENTS. 

PART II. 

COSMOGENESIS AND AnTHROPOGENESIS. 

Chapter V. The Relation of Man to God 177 

Diagram 6. The Supreme Being, the Cosmic Planes 

and God 178 

Chapter VI. The Scheme of Evolution. 

The Beginning * 182 

The Seven Worlds 186 

The Seven Periods 188 

Diagram 7. The Saturn Period 193 

Chapter VII. The Path of Evolution 194 

Revohitions and Cosmic Nights 195 

Diagram 8. The Seven "Worlds, Seven Globes and 

Seven Periods 197 

Chapter VIII. The Work of Evolution. 

Ariadnes Thread 201 

The Saturn Period 204 

Recapitulation 208 

The Sun Period 209 

The Moon Period 21,3 

Diagram of a Life Cycle (see Chapter III) 221 

Diagram 9. The Twelve Creative Hierarchies 222 

Chapter IX. Stragglers and Newcomers 223 

Classes of Beings at the Beginning of the Moon Period 226 

Diagram 10. Classes at the Beginning of Earth Period 230 

Chapter X. The Earth Period 233 

Saturn Revolution of the Earth Period 236 

Sun Revolution of the Earth Period 240 

Moon Revolution of the Earth Period 242 

Rest Periods Between Revolutions 243 

The Fourth Revolution of the Earth Period 245 

Chapter XI. Genesis and Evolution of Our Solar System. 

Chaos 246 

The Birth of the Planets 252 

Diagram. The Four Kingdoms (see Chapter II) ... . 254 

Diagram 12. Man's Past, Present and Future Form.. 257 

Chapter XII. Evolution on the Earth. 

The Polarian Epoch 261 

The Hyperborean Epoch 262 

The Moon ; the Eighth Sphere 264 

The Lemurian Epoch 265 



CONTENTS. 13 

Birth of the Individual 266 

Separation of the Sexes 267 

Influence of Mars 268 

The Races and Their Leaders 270 

Influence of Mercury 273 

The Lemurian Race 275 

The Fall of Man 282 

The Lucifer Spirits 286 

The Atlantean Epoch 291 

The Aryan Epoch 304 

The Sixteen Paths to Destruction 306 

Chapter XIII. Back to the Bible 308 

Chapter XIV. Occult Analysis of Genesis. 

Limitations of the Bible 317 

In the Beginning 321 

The Nebular Theory 322 

The Creative Hierarchies 325 

The Saturn Period 327 

The Sun Period, the Moon Period 328 

The Earth Period 329 

Jehovah and His Mission 333 

Involution, Evolution and Epigenesis 336 

A Living Soull 344 

Adam 's Rib 346 

Guardian Angels 347 

Mixing Blood in Marriage 352 

The Fall of Man 360 

Diagram 13. The Beginning and End of Sex 364 



PART III. 

Man's Future Development and Initiation. 

Chapter XV. Christ and His Mission. 

The Evolution of Religion 367 

Jesus and Christ-.Jesus 374 

Diagram 14. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spfrit 37''' 

Not Peace but a Sword 383 

The Star of Bethlehem 388 

The Heart an Anomaly 393 

The Mystery of Golgotha 400 

The Cleansing Blood 406 

Chapter XVI. Future Development and Initiation. 

The Seven Days of Creation 411 

Diagram 15. The Symbolism of the Caduces 413 

Radiates, Mollusks, Articulates and Vertebrates 416 

Spirals within Spirals .' . 420 



14 CONTENTS. 

Alchemy and Soulgrowth 421 

The Creative Word 425 

Chapter XVII. The Method of Acquiring First-Hand 
Knowledge. 

The First Steps 430 

Western Methods for Western People 437 

The Science of Nutrition 441 

Table of Food-Values 450 

The Law of Assimilation 451 

Live and Let Live 460 

The Lord's Prayer 462 

The Vow of Celibacy 467 

The Pituitary Body and the Pineal Gland 473 

Diagram 17. Path of the Unused Sex Currents 475 

Esoteric Training 477 

How the Inner Vehicle is Built 480 

Concentration 486 

Meditation 489 

Observation 492 

Discrimination 493 

Contemplation 494 

Adoration 495 

Chapter XVIII. The Constitution of the Earth and Volcanic 

Eruptions 498 

The Number of the Beast 499 

Diagram 18. The Constitution of .the Earth 509 

Chapter XIX. Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order of the 

Rosy Cross 515 

The Mission of the Rosicrucian Fellowship 519 

Index 523 



PART I 

Man's Present Constitution and 
Method of Development 



INTRODUCTION. 

THE Western world is undoubtedly the vanguard of 
the human race, and, for reasons given in the fol- 
lowing pages, it is held by the Rosicrucian that 
neither Judaism nor "popular Christianity," but true 
Esoteric Christianity is to be its world-religion. 

Buddha, great, grand and sublime, may be the "Light 
of Asia," but Christ will yet be acknowledged the "Light 
of the World." As the sun outshines the brightest star 
in the heavens, dispels every vestige of darkness and gives 
life and light to all beings, so, in a not too distant future, 
will the true religion of Christ supersede and obliterate all 
other religions, to the eternal benefit of mankind. 

In our civilization the chasm that stretches between 
mind and heart yawns deep and wide and, as the mind flies 
on from discovery to discovery in the realms of science, 
the gulf becomes ever deeper and wider and the heart is 
left further and further behind. The mind loudly demands 
and will be satisfied with nothing less than a materially 
demonstrable explanation of man and his fellow-creatures 
that make up the phenomenal world. The heart feels in- 
stinctively that there is something greater, and it yearns 
for that which it feels is a higher truth than can be 
grasped by the mind alone. The human soul would fain 
soar upon ethereal pinions of intuition ; would fain lave in 
the eternal fount of spiritual light and love; but modern 
scientific views have shorn its wings and it sits fettered 

17 



18 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

and mute, "unsatisfied longings gnawing at its tendrils as 
the vulture at Prometheus' liver. 

Is this necessary? Is there no common ground upon 
which head and heart may meet, each assisting the other, 
each by the help of the other becoming more effective in 
the search for universal truth, and each receiving equal 
satisfaction? 

As surely as the pre-existing light created the eye whereby 
the light is seen; as surely as the primordial desire for 
growth created the digestive and assimilative system for 
the attainment of that end; as surely as thought existed 
before the brain and built and still is building the brain 
f»r its expression; as surely as the mind is now forging 
ahead and wringing her secrets from nature by the very 
force of its audacity, just so surely will the heart find a 
way to burst its bonds and gratify its longings. At present 
it is shackled by the dominant brain. Some day it will 
gather strength to burst its prison bars and become a power 
greater than the mind. 

It is equally certain that there can be no contradiction 
in nature, therefore the heart and the mind must be capa- 
ble of uniting. To indicate this common ground is pre- 
cisely the purpose of this book. To show where and how 
the mind, helped by the intuition of the heart, can probe 
more deeply into the mysteries of being than either could 
do alone ; where the heart, by union with the mind, can be 
kept from going astray; where each can have full scope 
for action, neither doing violence to the other and where 
both mind and heart can be satisfied. 

Only when that co-operation is attained and perfected 
will man attain the higher, truer understanding of himself 
and of the world of which he is a part; only that can give 
him a broad mind and a great heart. 



INTKODUCTION 19 

At every birth what appears to be a new life comes 
among us. We see the little form as it lives and grows, 
becoming a factor in our lives for days, months, or years. 
At last there comes a day when the form dies and goes to 
decay. The life that came, whence we know not, has 
passed to the invisible beyond, and in sorrow we ask our- 
selves, Whence came it? Why was it here? and Whither 
has it gone? 

Across every threshold the skeleton form of Death 
throws his fearsome shadow. Old or young, well or ill, 
rich or poor, all, all alike must pass out into that shadow 
and throughout the ages has sounded the piteous cry for 
a solution of the riddle of life — the riddle of death. 

So far as the vast majority of people are concerned the 
three great questions, Whence have we come? Why are we 
here? Whither are we going? remain unanswered to this 
day. It has unfortunately come to be the popularly ac- 
cepted opinion that nothing can be definitely known about 
these matters of deepest interest to humanity. Nothing 
could be more erroneous than such an idea. Each and 
every one, without exception, may become capable of obtain- 
ing first-hand, definite information upon this subject ; may 
personally investigate the state of the human spirit, both 
before birth and after death. There is no favoritism, nor 
are special gifts required. Each of us has inherently the 
faculty for knowing all of these matters ; but !— Yes, there 
is a "but," and a "BUT" that must be written large. These 
faculties are present in all, though latent in most people. 
It requires persistent effort to awaken them and that seems 
to be a powerful deterrent. If these faculties, "awake and 
aware," could be had for a monetary consideration, even if 
the price were high, many people would pay it to gain such 
immense advantage over their fellow-men, but few indeed 



20 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

are those willing to live the life that is required to awaken 
them. That awakening comes only by patient, persistent 
effort. It cannot be bought ; there is no royal road to it. 

It is conceded that practice is necessary to learn to play 
the piano, and that it is useless to think of being a watch- 
maker without being willing to serve an apprenticeship. 
Yet when the matter of the soul, of death and the beyond, 
of the great causes of being, are the questions at issue, 
many think they know as much as anyone and have an 
equal right to express an opinion, though they may never 
have given the subject an hour's study. 

As a matter of fact, no one unless qualified by study 
of the subject should expect serious consideration for an 
opinion. In legal cases, where experts are called to testify, 
they are first examined as to their competency. The weight 
of their testimony will be nil, unless they are found to be 
thoroughly proficient in the branch of knowledge regarding 
which their testimony is sought. 

If, however, they are found to be qualified — ^by study 
and practice — to express an expert opinion, it is received 
with the utmost respect and deference; and if the testi- 
mony of one expert is corroborated by others equally pro- 
ficient, the testimony of each additional man adds im- 
mensely to the weight of the previous evidence. 

The irrefutable testimony of one such man easily coun- 
terbalances that of one or a dozen or a million men who 
know nothing of that whereof they speak, for nothing, 
even though multiplied by a million, will still remain 
nothing. This is as true of any other subject as of mathe- 
matics. 

As previously said, we recognize these facts readily 
enough in material affairs, but when things beyond the 
world of sense, when the super-physical world is under 



INTRODUCTION 21 

discussion; when the relations of God to man, the inner- 
most mysteries of the immortal spark of divinity, loosely 
termed the soul^ are to be probed, then each clamors for 
as serious consideration of his opinions and ideas regard- 
ing spiritual matters as is given to the sage, who by a life 
of patient and toilsome research has acquired wisdom in 
these higher things. 

Nay, more ; many will not even content themselves with 
claiming eqval consideration for their opinions, but will 
even jeer and scoff at the words of the sage, seek to impugn 
his testimony as fraud, and, with the supreme confidence 
of deepest ignorance, asseverate that as they know nothing 
of such matters, it is absolutely impossible that anyone 
else can. 

The man who realizes his ignorance has taken the first 
step toward knowledge. 

The path to first-hand knowledge is not easy. N"othing 
worth having ever comes without persistent effort. It can- 
not be too often repeated that there are no such things as 
special gifts or "luck." All that anyone is or has, is the 
result of effort. What one lacks in comparison with an- 
other is latent in himself and capable of development by 
proper methods. 

If the reader, having grasped this idea thoroughly, 
should ask, what he must do to obtain this first-hand 
knowledge, the following story may serve to impress the 
idea, which is the central one in occultism: 

A young man came to a sage one day and asked, "Sire, 
what must I do to become wise?'' The sage vouchsafed 
no answer. The youth after repeating his question a num- 
ber of times, with a like result, at last left him, to return 
the next day with the same question. Again no answer was 
given and the youth returned on the third day, still repeat- 



^^ EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEiPTlON 

ing his question, "Sire, what must I do to become wise?'^ 

Finally the sage turned and went down to a near-by 
river. He entered the water, bidding the youth follow him. 
Upon arriving at a sufficient depth the sage took the young 
man by the shoulders and held him under the water, despite 
his struggles to free himself. At last, however, he released 
him and when the youth had regained his breath the sage 
questioned him: 

"Son, when you were under the water what did you 
^w)st desire?" 

"The youth answered without hesitation, "Air, air! 
I wanted air !" 

•"Would you not rather have had riches, pleasure, power 
or love, my son? Did you not think of any of these?" 
queried the sage. . 

"No, sire ! I wanted air and thought only of air," came 
the instant response. 

"Then," said the sage, "to become wise you must desire 
wisdom with as great intensity as you just now desired air. 
You must struggle for it, to the exclusion of every other 
aim in life. It must be your one and only aspiration, by 
day and by night. . If you seek wisdom with that fervor, 
my son, you will surely become wise." 

That is the first and central requisite the aspirant to 
occult knowledge must possess — an unswerving desire, a 
burning thirst for knowledge ; a zeal that allows no obstacle 
to conquer it; but the supreme motive for seeking this 
occult knowledge must be an ardent desire to benefit hu- 
manity, entirely disregarding self in order to work for 
others. Unless prompted by that motive, occult knowledge 
is dangerous. 

Without possessing these qualifications — especially the 
latter — in some measure, any attempt to tread the arduous 



INTRODUCTION 23 

path of occultism would be a hazardous undertaking. An- 
other prerequisite to this first-hand knowledge, however, is 
the study of occultism at second-hand. Certain occult pow- 
ers are necessary for the first-hand investigation of matters 
connected with the pre-natal and post-mortem states of 
man, but no one need despair of acquiring information 
about these conditions because of undeveloped occult pow- 
ers. As a man may know about Africa either by going 
there personally or by reading descriptions written by trav- 
elers who have been there, so may he visit the super- 
physical realms if he will but qualify himself therefor, or 
he may learn what others who have so qualified themselves 
report as a result of their investigations. 

Christ said, "The Truth shall make you free," but Truth 
is not found once and forever. Truth is eternal, and the 
quest for Truth must also be eternal. Occultism knows 
of no "faith once for all delivered." There are certain 
basic truths which remain, but which may be looked at 
from many sides, each giving a different view, which com- 
plements the previous ones; therefore, so far as we can 
see at present, there is no such achievement possible as 
arriving at the ultimate truth. 

Wherein this work differs from some philosophical works 
the variations are caused by difference of viewpoint, and 
all respect is paid to the conclusions reached and the ideas 
set forth by other investigators. It is the earnest hope of 
the writer that the study of the following pages may help 
to make the student's ideas fuller and more rounded than 
they were before. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Visible and Invisible Worlds. 

THE first step in Qccultism is the study of the invisi- 
ble Worlds. These Worlds are invisible to the 
majority of people because of the dormancy of the 
finer and higher senses whereby they may be perceived, in 
the same way that the Physical World about us is per- 
ceived through the physical senses. The majority of peo- 
ple are on a similar footing in regard to the super-physical 
Worlds as the man who is born blind is to our world of 
sense; although light and color are all about him, he is 
unable to see them. To him they are non-existent and 
incomprehensible, simply because he lacks the sense of sight 
wherewith to perceive them. Objects he can feel; they 
seem real; but light and color are beyond his ken. 

So with the greater part of humanity. They feel, and 
see objects and hear sounds in the Physical World, but the 
other realms, which the clairvoyant calls the higher Worlds, 
are as incomprehensible to them as light and color are to 
the blind man. Because the blind man cannot see color 
and light, however, is no argument against their existence 
and reality. Neither is it an argument, that because most 
people cannot see the super-physical Worlds no one can do 
so. If the blind man obtains his sight, he will see light 
and color. If the higher senses of those blind to the super- 
physical Worlds are awakened by proper methods, they 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 25 

also will be able to behold the Worlds which are now hidden 
from them. 

While many people make the mistake of being incredu- 
lous concerning the existence or reality of the super-sensu- 
ous Worlds, there are also many who go to the other ex- 
treme, and, having become convinced of the verity of invisi- 
ble Worlds, think that when a person is clairvoyant all 
truth is at once open to him ; that when one can ^^see," he 
at once "knows all about^' these higher Worlds. 

This is a great mistake. We readily recognize the fal- 
lacy of such a contention in matters of everyday life. We 
do not think that a man w^ho was born blind, but has ob- 
tained his sight, at once "knows all about" the Physical 
World. Na}^, more; we know that even those of us who 
have been able to see the things about us all our lives are 
far from having a universal knowledge of them. We know 
that it requires arduous study and years of application to 
know about even that infinitesimal part of things that we 
handle in our daily lives, and reversing the Hermetic 
aphorism, "as above, so below,'' we gather at once that it 
must be the same in the other Worlds. At the same time 
it is also true that there are much greater facilities for 
acquiring knowledge in the super-physical Worlds than in 
our present dense physical condition, but not so great as 
to eliminate the necessity for close study and the possi- 
bility of making a mistake in observation. In fact, all the 
testimony of reliable and qualified obsen^ers prove that 
much more care in observation is needed there than here. 

Clairvoyants must first be trained before their observa- 
tions are of any real value, and the more proficient they be- 
come the more modest are they about telling of what they 
see ; the more do they defer to the versions of others, know- 
ing how much there is to learn and realizing how little the 



26 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

single investigator can grasp of all the detail incident to 
his investigations. 

This also accounts for the varied versions, which super- 
ficial people think is an argument against the existence of 
the higher Worlds. They contend that if these Worlds 
exist, investigators must necessarily bring back identical 
descriptions. If we take an illustration from everyday 
life, the fallacy of this becomes apparent. 

Suppose a newspaper sends twenty reporters to a city 
with orders to "write it up." Eeporters are, or ought to 
be, trained observers. It is their business to see every- 
thing and they should be able to give as good descriptions 
as can be expected from any source. Yet it is certain that 
of the twenty reports, no two would be exactly alike. It is 
much more likely that they would be totally different. 
Although some of them might contain leading features in 
common, others might be unique in quality and quantity of 
description. 

Is it an argument against the existence of the city that 
these reports differ ? Certainly not ! It is easily accounted 
for by the fact that each saw the city from his own par- 
ticular point of view and instead of these varying reports 
being confusing and detrimental, it is safe to say that a 
perusal of them all would give a fuller, better understand- 
ing and description of the city than if only one were read 
and the others thrown in the waste-basket. Each report 
would round out and complement the others. 

The same is true regarding accounts made by investi- 
gators of the higher Worlds. Each has his own peculiar 
way of looking at things and can describe only what he 
sees from his particular point of view. The account he 
gives may differ from those of others, yet all be equally 
truthful from each individual observer's viewpoint. 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS ^^ 

It is sometimes asked, Why investigate these Worlds? 
Why is it not best to take one World at a time ; to be con- 
tent for the present with the lessons to be learned in the 
Physical World, and, if there are invisible Worlds why not 
wait until we reach them before investigating ? "Sufficient 
unto the day is the evil thereof !" Why borrow more ? 

If we knew without doubt that at some time, sooner or 
later, each one of us must be transported to a far country 
where, under new and strange conditions, we must live for 
many years, is it not reasonable to believe that if we had 
an opportunity to learn of that country in advance of our 
removal to it we would gladly do so? Knowledge would 
render it much easier for us to accommodate ourselves to 
new conditions. 

There is only one certainty in life and that is — Death! 
As we pass into the beyond and are confronted by new 
conditions, knowledge of them is sure to be of the greatest 
help. 

But that is not all. To understand the Physical World, 
which is the world of effects, it is necessary to understand 
the super-physical World, which is the world of causes. 
We see street cars in motion and we hear the clicking of 
telegraph instruments, but the mysterious force which 
causes the phenomena remains invisible to us. We say it 
is electricity, but the name gives us no explanation. We 
learn nothing of the force itself; we see and hear only its 
effects. 

If a dish of cold water be placed in an atmosphere of a 
sufficiently low temperature ice crystals immediately begin 
to form and we can see the process of their formation. 
The lines along which the water crystallizes were in it all 
the time as lines of force but they were invisible until the 
water congealed. The beautiful "frost flowers" on a win- 



2S EOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTlON 

dowpane are visible manifestations of currents of the higher 
Worlds which operate upon us all the time, unrecognized by- 
most of us, but none the less potent. 

The higher Worlds are thus the worlds of causes, of 
forces; and we cannot really understand this lower World 
unless we know the others and realize the forces and causes 
of which all material things are but the effects. 

As to the reality of these higher Worlds compared with 
that of the Physical World, strange as it may seem, these 
higher Worlds, which to the majority appear as mirages, or 
even less substantial, are^ in truth, much more real and 
the objects in them more lasting and indestructible than 
the objects in the Physical World. If we take an example 
we shall readily see this. An architect does not start to 
build a house by procuring the material and setting the 
workmen to laying stone upon stone in a haphazard way, 
without thought or plan. He "thinks the house out." 
Gradually it takes form in his mind and finally there 
stands a clear idea of the house that is to be — a thought- 
form of a house. 

This house is yet invisible to all but the architect. He 
makes it objective on paper. He draws the plans and 
from this objective image of the thought-form the work- 
men construct the house of wood, iron, or stone, accurately 
corresponding to the thought-form originated by the 
architect. 

Thus the thought-form becomes a material reality. The 
materialist would assert that it is much more real, lasting 
and substantial than the image in the architect's mind. 
But let us see. The house could not have been constructed 
without the thought-form. The material object can be de- 
stroyed by dynamite, earthquake, fire, or decay, but the 
thought-form will remain. It will exist as long as the 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 29 

architect lives and from it any number of houses similar to 
the one destroyed may be constructed. Not even the archi- 
tect himself can destroy it. Even after his death this 
thought-form can be recovered by those who are qualified to 
read the memory of nature, which will be dealt with later. 
Having thus seen the reasonableness of such Worlds 
existing around and about us, and having satisfied ourselves 
of their reality, their permanency, and of the utility of a 
knowledge concerning them, we shall now examine them 
severally and singly, commencing with the Physical World. 

Chemical Eegion of the Physical World. 

In the Eosicrucian teaching the universe is divided into 
seven different Worlds, or states of matter, as follows: 

7— World of God 

6 — World of Virgin Spirits 

5 — World of Divine Spirit 

4— World of Life Spirit. 

3— World of Thought 

2 — Desire World 

1 — Physical World. 
This division is not arbitrary but necessary, because the 
substance of each of these Worlds is amenable to laws which 
are practically inoperative in the others. For instance, in 
the Physical World, matter is subject to gravity, contrac- 
tion and expansion. In the Desire World there is neither 
heat nor cold, and forms levitate as easily as they gravitate. 
Distance and time are also governing factors of existence in 
the Physical W^orld, but are almost non-existent in the 
Desire World. 

The matter of these worlds also varies in density, the 
Physical W^orld being the densest of the seven. 

Each World is subdivided into seven Regions or sub- 



3D KOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

divisions of matter. In the Ph3'sical World the solids, 
liquids and gases form the three denser subdivisions, the 
remaining four being ethers of varying densities. In the 
other Worlds similar subdivisions are necessary, because the 
matter of which they are composed is not of uniform 
density. 

There are still two further distinctions to be made. The 
three dense subdivisions of the Physical World — the solids, 
liquids and gases — constitute what is termed the Chemical 
Eegion. The substance in this Eegion is the basis of all 
dense Form. 

The Ether is also physical matter. It is not homogene- 
ous, as material science alleges, but exists in four different 
states. It is the medium of ingress for the quickening 
spirit which imparts vitality to the Forms in the Chemidal 
Eegion. The four finer or etheric subdivisions of the 
Physical World constitute what is known as the Etheric 
Eegion. 

In the World of Thought the three higher subdivisions 
are the basis of abstract thought, hence they, collectively, 
are called the Eegion of Abstract Thought. The four 
denser subdivisions supply the mind-stuff in which we 
embody and concrete our ideas and are therefore termed the 
Eegion of Concrete Thought. 

The careful consideration given by the occultist to the 
characteristics of the Physical World might seem super- 
fluous were it not that he regards all things from a view 
point differing widely from that of the materialist. The 
latter recognizes three states of matter — solids, liquids, 
and gases. These are all chemical, because derived from 
the chemical constituents of the Earth. From this chem- 
ical matter all the forms of mineral, plant, animal, and 
man have been built, hence they are as truly chemical as 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WOELDS 31 

the substances which are commonly so termed. Thus 
whether we consider the mountain or the cloud that en- 
velops its top, the juice of the plant or the blood of the 
animal, the spider's thread, the wing of the butterfly or 
the bones of the elephant, the air we breathe or the water 
we drink — all are composed of the same chemical sub- 
stance. 

What is it then which determines the conformation of 
this basic substance into the multiplex variety of Forms 
which we see about us ? It is the One Universal Spirit, ex- 
pressing Itself in the visible world as four great streams 
of Life, at varying stages of development. This fourfold 
spiritual impulse molds the chemical matter of the Earth 
into the variegated forms of the four Kingdoms — mineral, 
plant, animal, and man. When a forn has served its 
purpose as a vehicle of expression for the three higher 
streams of life, the chemical forces disintegrate that form 
so that the matter may be returned to its primordial state, 
and thus made available for the building of new forms. 
The spirit or life which molds the form into an expression 
of itself is, therefore, as extraneous to the matter it uses 
as a carpenter is apart from and personally independent 
of the house he builds for his own occupancy. 

As all the forms of mineral, plant, animal, and man are 
chemical, they must logically be as dead and devoid of 
feeling as chemical matter in its primitive state, and the 
Rosicrucian asserts that they are. 

Some scientists contend that there is feeling in all tissue, 
living or dead, to whatever kingdom it belongs. They in- 
clude even the substances ordinarily classed as mineral in 
their category of objects having feeling, and to prove their 
contentions they submit diagrams with curves of energy 
obtained from tests. Another class of investigators teach 



3^ ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

that there is no feeling even in the human body, except in 
the brain^ which is the seat of feeling. They say it is the 
brain and not the finger which feels the pain when the 
latter is injured. Thus is the house of Science divided 
against itself on this as on most other points. The posi- 
tion taken by each is partly right. It depends upon what 
we mean by "feeling." If we mean simply response to 
impacts, such as the rebound of a rubber ball that is 
dropped to the ground, of course it is correct to attribute 
feeling to mineral, plant, and animal tissue; but if we 
mean pleasure and pain, love and hate, joy and sorrow, it 
would be absurd to attribute them to the lower forms of 
life, to detached tissue, to minerals in their native state, 
or even to the brain, because such feelings are expressions 
of the self-conscious immortal spirit, and the brain is only 
the keyboard of the wonderful instrument upon which the 
human spirit plays its symphony of life, just as the musi- 
cian expresses himself upon his violin. 

As there are people who are quite unable to understand 
that there must be and are higher Worlds, so there are 
some who, having become slightly acquainted with the 
higher realms, acquire the habit of undervaluing this Phys- 
ical World. Such an attitude is as incorrect as that of 
the materialist. The great and wise Beings who carry 
out the will and design of God placed us in this physical 
environment to learn great and important lessons which 
could not be learned under other conditions, and it is our 
duty to use our knowledge of the higher Worlds in learn- 
ing to the best of our ability the lessons which this mate- 
rial world has to teach us. 

In one sense the Physical World is a sort of model school 
or experiment station to teach us to work correctly in the 
others. Tt does this whether or not we know of the ex- 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 33 

istence of those other worlds, thereby proving the great 
wisdom of the originators of the plan. If we had knowl- 
edge of none but the higher Worlds, we would make many- 
mistakes which would become apparent only when physical 
conditions are brought to bear as a criterion. To illus- 
trate : Let us imagine the case of an inventor working 
out his idea of a machine. First he builds the machine in 
thought, and in his mind he sees it complete and in oper- 
ation, performing most beautifully the work it is designed 
to do. He next makes a drawing of the design, and in 
doing so perhaps finds that modification in his first con- 
ception are necessary. When, from the drawings, he has 
become satisfied that the plan is feasible, he proceeds to 
build the actual machine from suitable material. 

Now it is almost certain that still further modifications 
will be found necessary before the machine will work as 
intended. It may be found that it must be entirely re- 
modeled, or even that it is altogether useless in its present 
form, must be discarded and a new plan evolved. But 
mark this, for here is the point : the new idea or plan will 
be formulated for the purpose of eliminating the defects 
in the useless machine. Had there been no material ma- 
chine constructed, thereby making evident the faults of the 
first idea, a second and correct idea would not have been 
formed. 

This applies equally to all conditions of life — social, 
mercantile, and philanthropic. Many plans appear ex- 
cellent to those conceiving them, and may even look well 
on paper, but when brought down to the actual test of 
utility they often fail. That, however, should not discour- 
age us. It is true that "we learn more from our mistakes 
than from our successes/' and the proper light in which 
to regard this Physical World is as a school of valuable 



34 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

experience, in which we learn lessons of the utmost im- 
portance. 

The Etheric Eegion of the Physical World. 

As soon as we enter this realm of nature we are in the 
invisible, intangible World, where our ordinary senses fail 
us, hence this part of the Physical World is practically 
unexplored by material science. 

Air is invisible, yet modern science knows that it ex- 
ists. By means of instruments its velocity as wind can be 
measured; by compression it can be made visible as liquid 
air. With ether, however, that is not so easy. Material 
science finds that it is necessary to account in some way 
for the transmission of electricity, with or without wires. 
It is forced to postulate some substance of a finer kind 
than it knows, and it calls that substance "ether." It does 
not really know that ether exists, as the ingenuity of the 
scientist has not, as yet, been able to devise a vessel in 
which it is possible to confine this substance, which is alto- 
gether too elusive for the comfort of the "wizard of the 
laboratory." He cannot measure, weigh, nor analyze it 
by any apparatus now at his disposal. 

Truly, the achievements of modern science are marvel- 
ous. The best way to learn the secrets of nature, however, 
is not by inventing instruments, but by improving the in- 
vestigator himself. Man has within himself faculties 
which eliminate distance and compensate for lack of size 
to a degree as much greater than the power of telescope 
and microscope as theirs exceeds that of the naked eye. 
These senses or faculties are the means of investigation 
used by occultists. They are their "open sesame" in 
searching for truth. 

To the trained clairvoyant ether is as tangible as are 
the solids, liquids, and gases of the Chemical Region to 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 35 

ordinary beings. He sees that the vital forces which give 
life to the mineral forms of plant, animal and man flow 
into these forms, by means of the four states of ether. 
The names and specific functions of these four ethers are 
as follow: 

(1) Chemical Ether. — This ether is both positive and 
negative in its manifestation. The forces which cause as- 
similation and excretion work through it. Assimilation 
is the process whereby the different nutritive elements of 
food are incorporated into the body of plant, animal and 
man. This is carried on by forces with which we shall 
become acquainted later. They work along the positive 
pole of the chemical ether and attract the needed elements, 
building them into the forms concerned. These forces 
do not act blindly nor mechanically, but in a selective way 
(well-known to scientists by its effects) thereby accom- 
plishing their purpose, which is the growth and mainte- 
nance of the body. 

Excretion is carried on by forces of the same kind, but 
working along the negative pole of the chemical ether. 
By means of this pole they expel from the body the mate- 
rials in the food which are unfit for use, or those which 
have outlived their usefulness in the body and should be 
expurgated from the system. This, like all other proc- 
esses independent of man's volition, is also wise, selective, 
and not merely mechanical in its operation, as seen, for 
instance, in the case of the action of the kidneys, where 
only the urine is filtered through when the organs are in 
health; but it is known that when the organs are not in 
health, the valuable albumen is allowed to escape with 
the urine, the proper selection not being made because of 
an abnormal condition. 

(2) Life Ether. — As the chemical ether is the avenue 



36 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

for the operation of the forces the object of which is the 
maintenance of the individual form, so the life ether is 
the avenue for the operation of the forces which have for 
their object the maintenance of the species — the forces of 
propagation. 

^^ Like the chemical ether, the life ether also has its posi- 
tive and negative pole. The forces which work along the 
positive pole are those which work in the female during 
gestation. They enable her to do the positive, active work 
of bringing forth a new being. On the other hand the 
forces which work along the negative pole of the life-ether 
enable the male to produce semen. 

In the work on the impregnated ovum of the animal 
and man^ or upon the seed of the plant, the forces working 
along the positive pole of the life ether produce male 
plants, animals and men; while the forces which express 
themselves through the negative pole generate females. 

(3) Light Ether. — This ether is both positive and nega- 
tive, and the forces which play along its positive pole are 
the forces which generate that blood heat in the higher 
species of animal and in man, which makes them individ- 
ual sources of heat. The forces which work along the 
negative pole of the light ether are those which operate 
through the senses, manifesting as the passive functions 
of sight, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling. They 
valso build and nourish the eye. 

In the cold-blooded animals the positive pole of the 
light ether is the avenue of the forces which circulate the 
blood, and the negative forces have the same functions 
in regard to the eye as in the case of the higher animals 
and man. Where eyes are lacking, the forces working in 
the negative pole of the light ether are perhaps building 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 37 

or nourishing other sense organs, as they do in all that 
have sense organs. 

In plants the forces which work along the positive pole 
of the light ether cause the circulation of the juices of the 
plant. Thus in winter, when the light ether is not charged 
with sunlight as in summer, the sap ceases to flow until 
the summer sun again invests the light ether force with 
its force. The forces which work along the negative pole 
of the light ether deposit the chlorophyl, the green sub- 
stance of the plant and also color the flowers. In fact, all 
color, in all the kingdoms is deposited by means of the 
negative pole of the light ether. Therefore animals have 
the deepest color on the back and flowers are deepest col- 
ored on the side turned towards the light. In the polar 
regions of the earth, where the rays of the sun are weak, 
all color is lighter and in some cases is so sparingly de- 
posited that in winter it is withdrawn altogether and the 
animals become white. 

(4) Reflecting Ether. — It has heretofore been stated 
that the idea of the house which has existed in the mind 
can be recovered from the memory of nature, even after the 
death of the architect. Everything that has ever hap- 
pened has left behind it an ineffaceable picture in this 
reflecting ether. As the giant ferns of the childhood of 
the Earth have left their pictures in the coal beds, and 
as the progress of the glacier of a bygone day may be 
traced by means of the trail it has left upon the rocks 
along its path, even so are the thoughts and acts of men 
ineffaceably recorded by nature in this reflecting ether, 
where the trained seer may read their story with an ac- 
curacy commensurate with his ability. 

The reflecting ether deserves its name for more than 
one reason, for the pictures in it are but reflections of the 



38 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

memory of nature. The real memory of nature is found 
in a much higher realm. In this reflecting ether no thor- 
oughly trained clairvoyant cares to read, as the pictures 
are blurred and vague compared to those found in the 
higher realm. Those who read in the reflecting ether are 
generally those who have no choice, who, in fact, do not 
know in what they are reading. As a rule ordinary psy- 
chometrists and mediums obtain their knowledge through 
the reflecting ether. To some slight extent the pupil of 
the occult school in the first stages of his training also 
reads in the reflecting ether, but he is warned by his 
teacher of the insufficiencies .of this ether as a means of 
acquiring accurate information, so that he does not easily 
draw wrong conclusions. 

This ether is also the medium through which thought 
makes an impression upon the human brain. It is most 
intimately connected with the fourth subdivision of the 
World of Thought. This is the highest of the four sub- 
divisions contained in the Region of Concrete Thought 
and is the homeworld of the human mind. There a much 
clearer version of the memory of nature is found than in 
the reflecting ether. 

The Desire World. 

Like the Physical World, and every other realm of 
nature, the Desire World has the seven subdivisions called 
"Regions," but unlike the Physical World, it does not have 
the great divisions corresponding to the Chemical and 
Etheric Regions. Desire-stuff in the Desire World per- 
sists through its seven subdivisions or regions as material 
for the embodiment of desire. As the Chemical Region 
is the realm of form and as the Etheric Region is the 
home of the forces carrying on life activities in those 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 39 

forms, enabling them to live, move and propagate, so the 
forces in the Desire World, working in the quickened dense 
body, impel it to move in this or that direction. 

If there were onlv the activities of the Chemical and 
Etheric Regions of the Physical World, there would be 
forms having life, able to move, but luith no incentive for 
so doing. This incentive is supplied by the cosmic forces 
active in the Desire World and without this activity play- 
ing through every fibre of the vitalized body, urging 
action in this direction or that, there would be no experi- 
ence and no moral growth. The functions of the different 
ethers would take care of the growth of the form, but 
moral growth would be entirely lacking. Evolution would 
be an impossibility, both as to form and life, for it is only 
in response to the acquirements of spiritual growth that 
forms evolve to higher states. Thus we at once see the 
great importance of this realm of nature. 

Desires, wishes, passions, and feelings express them- 
selves in the matter of the different regions of the De- 
sire World as form and feature express themselves in the 
Chemical Eegion of the Physical World. They take forms 
which last for a longer or shorter time, according to the 
intensity of the desire, wish, or feeling embodied in them. 
In the Desire World the distinction between the forces 
and the matter is not so definite and apparent as in the 
Physical World. One might almost say that here the 
ideas of force and matter are identical or interchange- 
able. It is not quite so, but we may say that to a certain 
extent the Desire World consists of force-matter. 

When speaking of the matter of the Desire World, it is 
true that it is one degree less dense than the matter of 
the Physical World, but we entertain an entirely wrong 
idea if we imagine it is finer physical matter. That idea, 



40 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-qONCEPTION 

though held by many who have studied occult philosophies, 
is entirely erroneous. The wrong impression is caused 
principally by the difficulty of giving the full and accurate 
description necessary for a thorough understanding of the 
higher worlds. Unfortunately, our language is descriptive 
of material things and therefore entirely inadequate to 
describe the conditions of the super-physical realms, hence 
all that is said about these realms must be taken tenta- 
tively, as similes, rather than as accurate descriptions. 

Though the mountain and the daisy, the man, the horse, 
and a piece of iron, are composed of one ultimate atomic 
substance, we do not say that the daisy is a finer form of 
iron. Similarly it is impossible to explain in words the 
change or difference in physical matter when it is broken 
up into desire-stuff. If there were no difference it would 
be amenable to the laws of the Physical World, which it 
is not. 

The law of matter of the Chemical Eegion is inertia — 
the tendency to remain in statu quo. It takes a certain 
amount of force to overcome this inertia and cause a body 
which is at rest to move, or to stop a body in motion. Not 
so with the matter of the Desire World. That matter itself 
is almost living. It is in unceasing motion, fluid, taking 
all imaginable and unimaginable forms with inconceivable 
facility and rapidity, at the same time coruscating and 
scintillating in a thousand ever-changing shades of color, 
incomparable to^ anything we know in this physical state 
of consciousness. Something very faintly resembling the 
action and appearance of this matter will be seen in the 
play of colors on an abalone shell when held in the sun- 
light and moved to and fro. 

That is what the Desire World is — ever-changing light 
and color^n which the forces of animal and man inter- 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 41 

mingle with the forces of innumerable Hierarchies of spirit- 
ual beings which do not appear in our Physical World, 
but are as active in the Desire World as we are here. Some 
of them will be dealt with later and their connection with 
man's evolution described. 

The forces sent out by this vast and varied host of Be- 
ings molds the ever-changing matter of the Desire World 
into innumerable and differing forms of more or less 
durability, according to the kinetic energy of the impulse 
which gave them birth. 

From this slight description it may be understood how 
difficult it is for a neophyte who has just had his inner eyes 
opened to find his balance in the World of Desire. The 
trained clairvoyant soon ceases to wonder at the impossi- 
ble descriptions sometimes brought through by mediums. 
They may be perfectly honest, but the possibilities 
of getting the parallax out of focus are legion, and of the 
subtlest nature, and the real wonder is that they ever com- 
municate anything correctly. All of us had to learn to 
see, in the days of our infancy, as we may readily :find by 
watching a young babe. It will be found that the little 
one will reach for objects on the other side of the room 
0* the street, or for the Moon. He is entirely unable to 
gauge distances. The blind man who has been made to 
see will, at first, often close his eyes to walk from one 
place to another, declaring, until he has learned to use 
his eyes, that it is easier to walk by feeling than by sight. 
So the one whose inner organs of perception have been 
vivified must also be trained in the use of his newly ac- 
quired faculty. At first the neophyte will try to apply to 
the Desire World the knowledge derived from his experi- 
ence in the Physical World, because he has not yet learned 
the laws of the world into which he is entering. This is 



42 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the source of a vast amount of trouble and perplexity. 
Before he can understand, he must become as a little child, 
which imbibed knowledge without reference to any pre- 
vious experience. 

To arrive at a correct understanding of the Desire 
World it is necessary to realize that it is the world of feel- 
ings, desires, and emotions. These are all under the domi- 
nation of two great forces — Attraction and Eepulsion, 
which act in a different way in the three denser Eegions 
of the Desire AVorld from that in which they act in the 
three finer or upper Eegions, while the central Eegion 
m^iy be called neutral ground. 

This central Eegion is the Eegion of feeling. Here 
interest in or indifference to an object or an idea sways the 
balance in favor of one of the two previously mentioned 
forces, thereby relegating the object or idea to the three 
higher or the three lower Eegions of the Desire World, 
or else they will expel it. We shall see presently how 
this is accomplished. 

In the finest and rarest' substance of the three higher 
Eegions of the Desire World the force of Attraction alone 
holds sway, but it is also present in some degree in the 
denser matter of the three lower Eegions, where it works 
against the force of Eepulsion, which is dominant there. 
The disintegrating force of Eepulsion would soon destroy 
every form coming into these three lower Eegions were it 
not that it is thus counteracted. In the densest or lowest 
Eegion, where it is strongest, it tears and shatters the 
forms built there in a way dreadful to see, yet it is not a 
vandalistic force. Nothing in nature is vandalistic. All 
that appears so is but working towards good. So with 
this force in its work in the lowest Eegion of the Desire 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 43 

World. The forms here are demoniac creations, built by 
the coarsest passions and desires of man and beast. 

The tendency of every form in the Desire World is to 
attract to itself all it can of a like nature and grow thereby. 
If this tendency to attraction were to predominate in the 
lowest Eegions, evil would grow like a weed. There would 
be anarchy instead of order in the Cosmos. This is pre- 
vented by the preponderating power of the force of Re- 
pulsion in this Region. When a coarse desire form is 
being attracted to another of the same nature, there is 
a disharmony in their vibrations, whereby one has a dis- 
integrating effect upon the other. Thus, instead of unit- 
ing and amalgamating evil with evil, they act with mutual 
destructiveness and in that way the evil in the world is 
kept within reasonable bounds. When we understand the 
working of the twin forces in this respect we are in a posi- 
tion to understand the occult maxim, "A lie is both mur- 
der and suicide in the Desire World.'' 

Anything happening in the Physical World is reflected 
in all the other realms of nature and, as we have seen, 
builds its appropriate form in the Desire World. When 
a true account of the occurrence is given, another form is 
built, exactly like the first. They are then drawn together 
and coalesce, strengthening each other. If, however, an 
untrue account is given, a form different from and antago- 
nistic to the first, or true one, is created. As they deal with 
the same occurrence, they are drawn together, but as their 
vibrations are different they act upon each other with 
mutual destructiveness. Therefore, evil and malicious lies 
can kill anything that is good, if they are strong enough 
and repeated often enough. But, conversely, seeking for 
the good in evil will, in time, transmute the evil into good. 
If the form that is built to minimize the evil is weak, it 



44 ROSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

will have no effect and will be destroyed by the evil form, 
but if it is strong and frequently repeated it will have the 
effect of disintegrating the evil and substituting the good. 
That effect, be it distinctly understood, is not brought about 
by lying, nor denying the evil, but by looking for the 
good. The occult scientist practices very rigidly this 
principle of looking for good in all things, because he 
knows what a power it possesses in keeping down evil. 

There is a story of Christ which illustrates this point. 
Once when walking with His disciples they passed the 
decaying and ill-smelling carcass of a dog. The disciples 
turned in disgust, commenting upon the nauseating nature 
(^ the sight; but Christ looked at the dead body and said 
"Pearls are not whiter than its teeth. ^^ He was deter- 
mined to find the good, because He knew the beneficial 
effect which would result in the Desire World from giving 
it expression. 

The lowest Region of the Desire World is called "the 
Eegion of Passion and Sensual Desire." The second sub- 
division is best described by the name of "Region of Im- 
pressionability." Here the effect of the twin forces of 
Attraction and Repulsion is evenly balanced. This is a 
neutral Region, hence all our impressions which are built 
of the matter of this Region are neutral. Only when the 
twin feelings, which we shall meet in the fourth Region, 
are brought to bear, do the twin forces come into play. 
The mere impression of anything, however, in and of itself, 
is entirely separate from the feeling it engenders. The 
impression is neutral and is an activity of the second Re- 
gion of the Desire Worlds where pictures are formed by 
the forces of sense-perception in the vital body of man. 

In the third Region of the Desire World, the force of 
Attraction — the integrating, upbuilding force — has already 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WOKLDS 45 

gained the upper hand over the force of Eepulsion, with its 
destructive tendency. Wlien we understand that the 
mainspring in this force of Repulsion is self-assertion, a 
pushing away of all others that it may have room, we 
shall understand that it gives way most easily to a desire 
for other things, so that the substance of the third Region 
of the Desire World is principally dominated by the force 
of Attraction towards other things, but in a selfish way, 
and therefore this is the Region of Wishes. 

The Region of Coarse Desires may be likened to the 
solids in the Physical World; the Region of Impression- 
ability to the fluids ; and the fluctuating, evanescent nature 
of the Region of Wishes will make that compare with the 
gaseous portion of the Physical World. These three Re- 
gions give the substance for the forms which make for 
experience, soul-growth and evolution, purging the alto- 
gether destructive and retaining the materials which may 
be used for progress. 

The fourth Region of the Desire World is the "Region 
of Feeling." From it comes the feeling concerning the 
already described forms and upon the feeling engendered 
by them depends the life which they have for us and also 
their effect upon us. Whether the objects and ideas pre- 
sented are good or bad in themselves is not important at 
this stage. It is our Feeling, whether of Interest or In- 
difference that is the determining factor as to the fate of 
the object or idea. 

If the feeling with which we meet an impression of an 
object or an idea is Interest, it has the same effect upon 
that impression as sunlight and air have upon a plant. 
That idea will grow and flourish in our lives. If, on the 
other hand, we meet an impression or idea with Indiffer- 
ence, it withers as does a plant when put in a dark cellar. 



46 KOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Thus from this central Eegion of the Desire World 
comes the incentive to action, or the decision to refrain 
therefrom (though the latter is also action in the eyes of 
the occult scientist), for at the present stage of our de- 
velopment the twin feelings, Interest and Indifference 
furnish the incentive to action and are the springs that 
move the world. At a later stage these feelings will cease 
to have any weight. Then the determining factor will be 
duty. 

Interest starts the forces of Attraction or Eepulsion. 

Indifference simply withers the object or idea against 
which it is directed, so far as our connection with it is 
concerned. 

If our interest in an object or an idea generates Ee- 
pulsion, that naturally causes us to expurgate from our 
lives any connection with the object or idea which roused 
it; but there is a great difference between the action of 
the force of Eepulsion and the mere feeling of Indiffer- 
ence. Perhaps an illustration will make more clear the 
operation of the twin Feelings and the tv»dn Forces. 

Three men are walking along a road. They see a sick 
dog; it is covered with sores and is evidently suffering in- 
tensely from pain and thirst. This much is evident to 
all three men — their senses tell them that. Now Feeling 
comes. Two of them take an "interest" in the animal, but 
in the third there is a feeling of "indifference.'' He 
passes on, leaving the dog to its fate. The others remain; 
they are- both interested, but each manifests it in a quite 
different way. The interest of one man is sympathetic and 
helpful, impelling him to care for the poor beast, to as- 
suage pains and nurse it back to health. In him the feel- 
ing of interest has aroused the force of Attraction. The 
other man's interest is of a different kind. He sees only 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 47 

a loathsome sight which is revolting to him and wishes 
to rid himself and the world of it as quickly as possible. 
He advises killing the animal outright and burying it. In 
him the feeling of interest generates the destructive force 
of Eepulsion. 

When the feeling of Interest arouses the force of At- 
traction and it is directed toward low objects and desires, 
these work themselves out in the lower Regions of the 
Desire World, where the counteracting force of Repulsion 
operates, as previously described. From the battle of the 
twin forces — Attraction and Repulsion — results all the 
pain and suffering incident to wrongdoing or misdirected 
effort, whether intentional or otherwise. 

Thus we may see how very important is the Feeling we 
have concerning anything, for upon that depends the 
nature of the atmosphere we create for ourselves. If we 
love the good, we shall keep and nourish as guardian 
angels all that is good about us; if the reverse, we shall 
people our path with demons of our own breeding. 

The names of the three upper Regions of the Desire 
World are "Region of Soul-Life,'^ "Region of Soul-Light," 
and "Region of Soul-Power." In these abide Art, Altru- 
ism, Philanthropy, and all the activities of the higher 
soul-life. When we think of these Regions as radiating 
the qualities indicated by their names, into the forms of 
the three lower Regions, we shall understand correctly the 
higher and lower activities. Soul-power, however, may 
for a time be used for evil purposes as well as for good, 
but eventually the force of Repulsion destroys vice and 
the force of Attraction builds virtue upon its shattered 
ruins. All things, in the ultimate, work together for 
GOOD. 

The Physical and the Desire Worlds are not separated 



48 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

from each other by space. They are "closer than hands 
and ieeV It is not necessary to move to get from one 
to the other, nor from one Eegion to the next. Just as 
solids, liquids, and gases are all together in our bodies, 
inter-penetrating one another, so are the different Eegions 
of the Desire World within us also. We may again com- 
pare the lines of force along which ice-crystals form in 
water to the invisible causes originating in the Desire 
World, which appear in the Physical World and give us 
the incentive to action, in whatever direction it may be. 

The Desire World, with its innumerable inhabitants, 
permeates the Physical World, as the lines of force do the 
'water — invisible, but everywhere present and potent as the 
cause of everything in the Physical World. 

The World of Thought. 

The World of Thought also consists of seven Regions 
of varying qualities and densities, and, like the Physical 
World, the World of Thought is divided into two main 
divisions — the Region of Concrete Thought, comprising 
the four densest Regions; and the Region of Abstract 
Thought, comprising the three Regions of finest substance. 
This World of Thought is the central one of the five 
Worlds from which man obtains his vehicles. Here spirit 
and body meet. It is also the highest of the three Worlds 
in which man's evolution is being carried forward at the 
present time, the two higher Worlds being practically in 
abeyance as yet, so far as man is concerned. 

We know that the materials of the Chemical Region are 
used in building all physical forms. These forms are given 
life and the power of motion by the forces at work in the 
Etheric Region, and some of these living forms are stirred 
into activity by means of the twin Feelings of the Desire 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 49 

World. The Eegion of Concrete Thought furnishes the 
mind-stuff in which ideas generated in the Region of Ab- 
stract Thought clothe themselves as thought-forms, to act 
as regulators and balance wheels upon the impulses en- 
gendered in the Desire World by impacts from the phenom- 
enal World. 

Thus we see how tlie three Worlds, in which man is at 
present evolving, complement one another, making a whole 
that shows forth the Supreme Wisdom of the Great Archi- 
tect of the S3'stem to which we belong, and Whom we rev- 
erence by the holy name of God. 

Taking a more detailed view of the several divisions of 
the Eegion of Concrete Thought we find that the arche- 
types of physical form no matter to what kingdom they 
may belong, are found in its lowest subdivision, or the 
'Continental Eegion." In this Continental Eegion are 
also the archetypes of the continents and the isles of the 
world, and corresponding to these archetypes are they 
fashioned. Modifications in the crust of the Earth must 
first be wrought in the Continental Eegion. Not until the 
archetypal model has been changed can the Intelligences 
which we (to hide our ignorance concerning them) call 
the "Laws of Nature," bring about the physical conditions 
which alter the physical features of the Earth according 
to the modifications designed by the Hierarchies in charge 
of evolution. They plan changes as an architect plans the 
alteration of a building before the workmen give it con- 
crete expression. In like manner are changes in the flora 
and fauna due to metamorphoses in their respective arche- 
types. 

When we speak of the archetypes of all the different 
forms in the dense world it must not be thought that 
these archetypes are merely models in the same sense 



50 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

in which we speak of an object constructed in miniature, 
or in some material other than that appropriate for its 
proper an(J final use. They are not merely likenesses nor 
models of the forms we see about us, but are creative arche- 
types; that is, they fashion the forms of the Physical 
World in their own likeness or likenesses, for often many 
work together to form one certain species, each archetype 
giving part of itself to build the required form. 

The second subdivision of the Eegion of Concrete 
Thought is called the "Oceanic Region.'^ It is best de- 
scribed as flowing, pulsating vitality. All the forces that 
work through the four ethers which constitute the Etheric 
Region are there seen as archetypes. It is a stream of 
flowing life, pulsating through all forms, as blood pulsates 
through the body, the same life in all forms. Here the 
trained clairvoyant sees how true it is that "all life is one." 

The "Aerial Region" is the third division of the Re- 
gion of Concrete Thought. Here we find the archetype of 
desires, passions, wishes, feelings, and emotions such as we 
experience in the Desire World. Here all the activities of 
the Desire World appear as atmospheric conditions. Like 
the kiss of the summer breeze come the feelings of pleas- 
ure and joy to the clairvoyant sense; as the sighing of 
the wind in the tree-tops seem the longings of the soul and 
like flashes of lighting the passions of warring nations. 
In this atmosphere of the Region of Concrete Thought are 
also pictures of the emotions of ^nan and beast. 

The "Region of Archetypal Forces" is the fourth divi- 
sion of the Region of Concrete Thought. It is the central 
and most important Region in the five Worlds wherein 
man's entire evolution is carried on. On the one side of 
this Region are the three higher Regions of the World of 
Thought, the World of Life Spirit and the World of Divine 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE V^ORLDS 51 

Spirit. On the other side of this Eegion of Archetypal 
Forces are the three lower Eegions of the World of 
Thought, the Desire and the Ph)^sical Worlds. Thus this 
Eegion becomes a sort of "crux/' bounded on one side by 
the Eealms of Spirit, on the other by the Worlds of Form. 
It is a focusing point, where Spirit reflects itself in 
matter. 

As the name implies, this Eegion is the home of the 
Archetypal Forces which direct the activity of the arche- 
types in the Eegion of Concrete Thought. From this 
Eegion Spirit works on matter in a formative manner. 
Diagram 1 shows the idea in a schematic way, the forms in 
the lower World being reflections of the Spirit in the 
higher Worlds. The fifth Eegion, which is the one nearest 
to the focusing point on the Spirit side, reflects itself in 
the third Eegion, which is nearest the focusing point on 
the Form side. The sixth Eegion reflects itself in the 
second and the seventh reflects itself in the first. 

The whole of the Eegion of Abstract Thought is re- 
flected in the World of Desire ; the World of Life Spirit in 
the Etheric Eegion of the Physical World; and the World 
of Divine Spirit in the Chemical Eegion of the Physical 
World. 

Diagram 2 will give a comprehensive idea of the seven 
Worlds which are the sphere of our development, but we 
must carefully keep in mind that these Worlds are not 
placed one above another, as shown in the diagram. They 
inter-penetrate — that is to say, that as in the case where 
the relation of the Physical World and the Desire World 
were compared, where we likened the Desire World to the 
lines of force in freezing water and the water itself to the 
Physical World, in the same way we may think of the 
lines of force as being any of the seven Worlds, and the 




Diagram 1 — The Belative Permanency of the Visible and 

Invisible Worlds. 

(Illustrated by comparison with a stereopticon.) 

52 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WORLDS 53 

water, as in our illustration, would correspond to the next 
denser World in the scale. Another illustration may per- 
haps make the subject clearer. 

Let us use a spherical sponge- ;o represent the dense earth 
— the Chemical Kegion. Imagine that sand permeates 
every part of the sponge and also forms a layer outside the 
sponge. Let the sand represent the Etheric Eegion, which 
in a similar manner permeates the dense earth and ex- 
tends beyond its atmosphere. 

Let us further imagine this sponge and sand immersed 
in a spherical glass vessel filled with clear water, and a 
little larger than the sponge and sand. We place the 
sponge and sand in the center of the vessel as the yolk 
is placed in the center of an egg. We have now a space 
of clear water between the sand and the vessel. The water 
as a whole will represent the Desire World, for just as the 
water percolates between the grains of sand, through every 
pore of the sponge, and forms that clear layer, so the 
Desire World permeates both the dense Earth and the 
ether and extends beyond both of these substances. 

We know there is air in water, and if we think of the 
air in the water (in our illustration), as representing 
the World of Thought, we shall have a fair mental picture 
of the way in which the World of Thought, being finer and 
more subtle, inter-penetrates the two denser Worlds. 

Finally, imagine that the vessel containing the sponge, 
sand and water is placed in the center of a larger spherical 
vessel then the air in the space between the two vessels 
would represent that part of the World of Thought which 
extends beyond the Desire World. 

Each of the planets in our solar system has three such 
inter-penetrating Worlds, and if we think of each of the 
planets consisting of three Worlds as being individual 



54 



BOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 



DIAGRAM e. 



THE SEVEN WORLDS 



WORLD 
OF GOD 



WORLD This World consists of 7 Regions and is the 

OF abode of the Virgin Spirits when they have 

VIRGIN been differentiated in God before the pilgrim- 

SPIRITS age through matter. 



Vehicles 
of Man 



■>l 



WORLD OF Consists of 7 Regions and is the abode of the 

DIVINE SPIRIT highest spiritual influence in man. 



Divine 
Spirit 



WORLD OF Consists of 7 Regions and is the abode of the 

LIFE SPIRIT second aspecf of the threefold spirit in man. 



Life 
Spirit 



REGION OF 
ABSTRACT 
THOUGHT 



h 
O 

o 

z 
h 

o 

5 REGION OF 
a CONCRETE 
I THOUGHT 



7th Region contains the germinal idea of form 

in mineral, plant, animal and man. 

6th Region contains germinal idea of life In 

plant, animal and man. 

5th Region contains germinal idea of desire 

and emotion in animal and man; abode of 3rd 

aspect of spirit in man. 



Human 
Spirit 



4th Region contains the archetypal forces and 
the human mind.. It is the focusing point 
through which the spirit mirrors itself in mat- 
ter. 

3rd Region archetypes of desire and emotion. 
2nd Region archetypes of universal vitality. 
1st Region archetypes of form. 



Mind 



:) 






DESIRE 
WORLD 



7th Region Soul-Power i 
6th Region Soul-Light I"~" 
5th Region Soul-Life. J 

{Interest 



'Attraction 



Desire 
Body 



Indifference. 



3rd Region Wishes 1 

'2nd Region Impressionability | 

1st Region Passion and Low DesireJ 



Repulsion. 



7th Region Reflecting ether, memory of nature. 
6th Region Light ether, medium of sense per- 

ETHERIC ception. 

REGION 5th Region Life ether, medium for propagation. 

4th Region Chemical ether, medium for assimi- 
lation and excretion. 



Vital 
Body 



CHEMICAL 3rd Region Gases. 
REGION 2rd Region Liquids. 

1st Region Solids. 



Dense 
Body 



THE VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE WOELDS 55 

sponges, and of the fourth World, the World of Life Spirit, 
as being the water in a large vessel where these threefold 
separate sponges swim, we shall understand that as the 
water in the vessel fills the space between the sponges and 
percolates through them, so the World of Life Spirit per- 
vades inter-planetary space and inter-penetrates the indi- 
vidual planets. It forms a common bond between them, 
so that as it is necessary to have a boat and be able to 
control it, if we wish to sail from America to Africa, so it 
is necessary to have a vehicle correlated to the World of 
Life Spirit under our conscious control in order to be able 
to travel from one planet to another. 

In a similar manner as the World of Life Spirit corre- 
lates us to the other planets in our own solar system does 
the World of Divine Spirit correlate us to the other solar 
systems. We may regard the solar systems as separate 
sponges, swimming in a World of Divine Spirit, and thus 
it will be apparent that in order to travel from one solar 
system to another it would be necessary to be able to 
function consciously in the highest vehicle of man : the 
Divine Spirit. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Four Kingdoms. 

THE three Worlds of our planet are at present the 
field of evolution, for a number of different king- 
doms of life, at various stages of development. Only 
four of these need concern us at present, viz. : the mineral, 
plant, animal, and human kingdoms. 

These four kingdoms are related to the three Worlds 
in different ways, according to the progress these groups of 
evolving life have made in the school of experience. So 
far as form is concerned the dense bodies of all the king- 
doms are composed of the same chemical substances — 
the solids, liquids, and gases of the Chemical Region. 
The constituents of the dense body of a man is as truly 
a chemical compound as the stone ensouled by mineral 
life. But even when speaking from the purely physical 
standpoint, and laying aside all other considerations for the 
time being, there are several important differences when we 
compare the dense body of the human being with the min- 
eral of the Earth. Man moves, grows, and propagates his 
species — the mineral, in its native state, does none of these 
things. 

Comparing man with the forms of the plant kingdom, 
we find that both plant and man have a dense body, capa- 
ble of growth and propagation. But Man has faculties not 
possessed by the plant. .He feels, has the power of motion, 
and the faculty of perceiving things exterior to himself. 

56 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 57 

When we compare man with the animal we see that 
both have the faculties of feeling, motion, growth, propa- 
gation, and sense-perception. In addition, man has the 
faculty of speech, a superior structure of the brain, and 
also hands — which are a very great physical advantage. 
We may note especially the development of the thumb, 
which makes the hand much more valuable than even that 
of the anthropoid. Man has also evolved a definite lan- 
guage in which to express his feelings and thoughts, all of 
which places the dense body of the human being in a class 
by itself, beyond the three lower kingdoms. 

To account for these differences in the four kingdoms 
we must go to the invisible Worlds, and seek the causes 
which give one kingdom that which is denied to another. 

To function in any world, and express the qualities 
peculiar to it, we must first possess a vehicle made of its 
material. In order to function in the dense Physical 
World it is necessary to have a dense bod}^, adapted to our 
environment. Otherwise we should be ghosts, as they are 
commonly called, and be invisible to most physical beings. 
So we must have a vital body before we can express life, 
grow, or externalize the other qualities peculiar to the 
Etheric Eegion. 

To show feeling and emotion it is necessary to have a 
vehicle composed of the materials of the Desire World, and 
a mind formed of the substance of the Eegion of Concrete 
Thought is necessary to render thinking possible. 

^Vhen we examine the four kingdoms in relation to the 
Etheric Region, we find that the mineral does not possess 
a separate vital body, and at once we see the reason why it 
cannot grow, propagate, or show sentient life. 

As an hypothesis necessary to account for other known 
facts, material science holds that in the densest solid, as in 



58 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the rarest and most attenuated gas, no two atoms touch 
each other; that there is an envelope of ether around each 
atom; that the atoms in the universe float in an ocean of 
ether. 

The occult scientist knows this to be true of the Chem- 
ical Eegion and that the mineral does not possess a separate 
vital body of ether. And as it is the planetary ether alone 
which envelops the atoms of the mineral, that makes the 
difference described. It is necessary, as we have shown, 
to have a separate, vital tody, desire hody, etc., to express 
the qualities of a particular realm, because the atoms of the 
World of Desire, of the World of Thought and even of the 
riigher Worlds, inter-penetrate the Mineral as well as the 
dense human body, and if the inter-penetration of the 
planetary ether, which is the ether that envelops the atoms 
of the mineral, were enough to make it feel and propagate 
its inter-penetration by the planetary World of Thought 
would also be sufficient to make it think. This it cannot 
do, because it lacks a s&parate vehicle. It is penetrated by 
the planetary ether only, and is therefore incapable of indi- 
vidual growth. Only the lowest of the four states of 
ether — the chemical — is active in the mineral. To that 
fact is due the chemical forces in minerals. 

When we consider plant, animal, and man in relation 
to the Etheric Region we note that each has a separate, 
vital body, in addition to being penetrated by the planetary 
ether which forms the Etheric Region. There is a differ- 
ence, however, between the vital bodies of the plants and 
the vital bodies of animal and man. In the vital body 
of the plant only the chemical and the life ethers are fully 
active. Hence the plant can grow by the action of the 
chemical ether and propagate its species through the activ- 
ity of the life ether of the separate, vital body which it 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 59 

possesses. The light ether is present, but is partially latent 
or dormant and reflecting ether is lacking. Therefore it 
is evident that the faculties of sense-perception and mem- 
ory, which are the qualities of these ethers, cannot be 
expressed by the plant kingdom. 

Turning our attention to the vital body of the animal 
we find that in it the chemical, life and light ethers are 
dynamically active. Hence the animal has the faculties 
of assimilation and growth, caused by the activities of 
the chemical ether; and the faculty of propagation by 
means of the life ether — these being the same as in plants. 
But in addition, consequent upon the action of the third 
or light ether, it has the faculties of generating internal 
heat and of sense-perception. The foui-th ether, however, 
is inactive in the animal, hence it has no thought nor mem- 
ory. That which appears as such will be shown later to 
be of a diiferent nature. 

When we analyze the human being, we find that in him 
all four ethers are dynamically active in the highly organ- 
ized vital body. By means of the activities of the chemical 
ether he is able to assimilate food and to grow ; the forces at 
work in the life ether enable him to propagate his species ; 
the forces in the light ether supply the dense body with 
heat, work on the nervous system and the muscles, thus 
opening the doors of communication with the outside world 
by way of the senses; and the reflecting ether enables the 
spirit to control its vehicle by means of thought. This 
ether also stores past experience as memory. 

The vital body of plant, animal, and man, extends be- 
yond the periphery of the dense body as the Etheric 
Region, which is the vital body of a planet, extends beyond 
its dense part, showing again the truth of the Hermetic 
axiom "As above, so below." The distance of this exten- 



60 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sion of the vital body of man is about an inch and a half. 
The part which is outside the dense body is very luminous 
and about. the color of a new-blown peach-blossom. It is 
often seen by persons having very slight involuntary clair- 
voyance. The writer has found, when speaking with such 
persons, that they frequently are not aware they see any- 
thing unusual and do not know what they see. 

The dense body is built into the matrix of this vital 
body during ante-natal life, and with one exception, it is 
an exact copy, molecule for molecule, of the vital body. 
As the lines of force in freezing water are the avenues of 
^ formation for ice crvstals, so the lines of force in the vital 
body determine the shape of the dense body. All through 
life the vital body is the builder and restorer of the dense 
form. Were it not for the etheric heart the dense heart 
would break quickly under the constant strain we put upon 
it. All the abuses to which we subject the dense body are 
counteracted, so far as lies in its power, by the vital body, 
which is continually fighting against the death of the 
dense body. 

The exception mentioned above is that the vital body 
of a man is female or negative, while that of a woman is 
male or positive. In that fact we have the key to numer- 
ous puzzling problems of life. That woman gives way to 
her emotions is due to the polarity noted, for her positive, 
vital body generates an excess of blood and causes her to 
labor under an enormous internal pressure that would 
break the physical casement were not a safety-valve pro- 
vided in the periodical flow, and another in the tears which 
relieve the pressure on special occasions — for tears are 
"white bleeding." 

Man may have and has as strong emotions as woman, 
but he is usually able to suppress them without tears, be- 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 61 

cause his negative vital body does not generate more blood 
than he can comfortably control. 

Unlike the higher vehicles of humanity, the vital body 
(except under certain circumstances, to be explained when 
the subject of "Initiation" is dealt with) does not ordinar- 
ily leave the dense body until the death of the latter. Then 
the chemical forces of the dense body are no longer held 
in check by the evolving life. They proceed to restore the 
matter to its primordial condition by disintegration so that 
it may be available for the formation of other forms in 
the economy of nature. Disintegration is thus due to the 
activity of the planetary forces in the chemical ether. 

In texture the vital body may be crudely compared to 
one of those picture frames made of hundreds of little 
pieces of wood which interlock and present innumerable 
points to the observer. The vital body presents millions 
of points to the observer. These points enter into the 
hollow centers of the dense atoms, imbuing them with vital 
force that sets them vibrating at a rate higher than that of 
the mineral of the earth which is not thus accelerated and 
ensouled. 

When a person is drowning, or falling from a height, 
or freezing, the vital body leaves the dense body, the atoms 
of which become temporarily inert in consequence, but at 
resuscitation it re-enters the dense body and the "points" 
are again inserted in the dense atoms. The inertia of the 
atoms causes them to resist the resumption of vibration 
and that is the cause of the intense prickly pain and the 
tind^ing sensation noted at such times, but not ordinarily, 
for me same reason that we become conscious of the start- 
ing or stopping of a clock, but are oblivious to its tick 
when it is running. 

There are certain cases where the vital body partly 



62 EOSICKUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION 

leaves the dense body, such as when a hand "goes to 
sleep." Then the etheric hand of the vital bod}^ may be 
seen hanging below the dense arm like a glove and the 
points cause the peculiar pricking sensation felt when the 
etheric hand re-enters the dense hand. Sometimes in 
hypnosis the head of the vital body divides and hangs out^ 
side the dense head, one half over each shoulder, or lies 
around the neck like the collar of a sweater. The absence 
of prickly sensation at awakening in cases like this is be- 
cause during the hypnosis part of the hypnotist's vital 
body had been substituted for that of the victim. 

When anesthetics are used the vital body is partially 
driven out, along with the higher vehicles, and if the appli- 
cation is too strong and the life ether is driven out, death 
ensues. This same phenomenon may also be observed in 
the case of materializing mediums. In fact the difference 
between a materializing medium and an ordinary man 
or woman is just this: In the ordinary man or woman 
the vital body and the dense body are, at the present stage 
of evolution, quite firmly interlocked, while in the medium 
they are loosely connected. It has not always been so, and 
the time will again come when the vital body may normally 
leave the dense vehicle, but that is not normally accom- 
plished at present. When a medium allows his or her vital 
body to be used by entities from the Desire World who 
wish to materialize, the vital body generally oozes from 
the left side — through the spleen, which is its particular 
"gate." Then the vital forces cannot flow into the body 
as they do normally, the medium becomes greatly ex- 
hausted, and some of them resort to stimulants to counter- 
act the effects, in time becoming incurable drunkards. 

The vital force from the sun, which surrounds us as a 
colorless fluid, is absorbed by the vital body through the 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 63 

etheric counterpart of the spleen^ wherein it undergoes a 
curious transformation of color. It becomes pale rose- 
hued and spreads along the nerves all over the dense body. 
It is to tlje nervous system what the force of electricity is 
to a telegraph system. Though there be wires, instruments, 
and telegraph operators all in order, if the electricity is 
lacking, no message can be sent. The Ego, the brain, and 
the nervous system may be in seemingly perfect order, but 
if the vital force be lacking to carry the message of the 
Ego through the nerves to the muscles, the dense body will 
remain inert. This is exactly what happens when part of 
the dense body becomes paralyzed. The vital body has be- 
come diseased and the vital force can no longer flow. In 
such cases, as in most sickness, the trouble is with the 
finer, invisible vehicles, and to treat only the dense body is 
like taking a watch that is out of order to a watchmaker 
and asking him to '^polish up" the case when the trouble is 
in the hidden works. Of course there are times when 
medical help is needed, but such times are confined chiefly 
to cases of broken bones, etc. 

During health the vital body specializes a superabundance 
of vital force, which, after passing through the dense body, 
radiates in straight lines in every direction from the peri- 
phery thereof, as the radii of a circle do from the center; 
but during ill-health, when the vital body becomes attenu- 
ated, it is not able to draw to itself the same amount of 
force and in addition the dense body is feeding upon it. 
Then the lines of the vital fluid which pass out from the 
body are crumpled and bent, showing the lack of force 
l^ehind them. In health the great force of these radiations 
carries with it germs and microbes which are inimical to 
the health of the dense body, but in sickness, when the vital 
force is weak, these emanations do not so readily eliminate 



64 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

disease germs. Therefore the danger of contracting dis- 
ease is much greater when the vital forces are low than 
when one is in rohnst health. 

In cases where parts of the dense body are amputated, 
only the planetary ether accompanies the separated part. 
The separate vital body and the dense body disintegrate 
synchronously after death. So with the etherie coun- 
terpart of the amputated limb. It will gradually 
disintegrate as the dense member decays, but in the 
meantime the fact that the man still possesses the etherie 
limb accounts for his assertion that he can feel his fin- 
gers or suffers pain in them. There is also a connection 
with a buried member, irrespective of distance. A 
case is on record where a man felt a severe pain, as if a 
nail had been driven into the flesh of an amputated limb, 
and he persisted until the limb was exhumed, when it was 
found that a nail had been driven into it at the time it was 
boxed for burial. The nail was removed and the pain 
instantly stopped. It is also in accordance with these 
facts that people complain of pain in a limb for perhaps 
two or three years after the amputation. The pain will 
then cease. This is because the disease remains in the still 
undetached etherie limb, but as the amputated part dis- 
integrates, the etherie limb follows suit and thus the pain 
ceases. 

Having noted the relations of the four kingdoms to the 
Etherie Eegion of the Physical World, we will next turn 
our attention to their relation to the Desire World. 

Here we find that both minerals and plants lack the 
separate desire body. They are permeated only by the 
planetary desire body, the Desire World. Lacking the 
separate vehicle, they are incapable of feeling, desire, and 
emotion, which are faculties pertaining to the Desire 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 65 

World. When a stone is broken, it does not feel; but it 
would be wrong to infer that there is no feeling connected 
with such an action. That is the materialistic view, or the 
view taken by the uncomprehending multitude. The 
occult scientist knows that there is no act, great or small, 
which is not felt throughout the universe, and even though 
the stone, because it has no separate desire body, cannot 
feel, the Spirit of the Earth feels because it is the Earth's 
desire body that permeates the stone. When a man cuts 
his finger^ the finger, having no separate desire body, does 
not feel the pain, but the man does, because it is his desire 
body which permeates the finger. If a plant is torn up by 
the roots, it is felt by the Spirit of the Earth as a man 
would feel if a hair were torn from his head. This Earth 
is a living, feeling body, and all the forms which are with- 
out separate desire bodies through which their informing 
spirits may experience feeling, are included in the desire 
body of the Earth and that desire body has feeling. The 
breaking of a stone and the breaking off of flowers are 
productive of pleasure to the Earth, while the pulling out 
of plants by the root causes pain. The reason is given in 
the latter part of this work, for at this stage of our study 
the explanation would be incomprehensible to the general 
reader. 

The planetary Desire World pulsates through the dense 
and vital bodies of animal and man in the same way that 
it penetrates the mineral and plant, but in addition to this, 
animal and man have separate desire bodies, which enable 
tliem to feel desire, emotion and passion. There is a differ- 
ence, however. The desire body of the animal is built en- 
tirely of the material of the denser regions of the Desire 
World, while in the case of even the lowest of human races 
a little of the matter of the higher Eegions enters into the 



66 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

^composition of the desire body. The feelings of animals 
and the lowest human races are almost entirely concerned 
with the gratification of the lowest desires and passions, 
which find their expression in the matter of the lower 
Eegions of the Desire World. Hence, in order that they 
may have such emotions to educate them for something 
higher, it is necessary that they should have the corre- 
sponding materials in their desire bodies. As man pro- 
gresses in the school, of life, his experiences teach him, 
and his desires become purer and better. Thus by degrees 
the material of his desire body undergoes a corresponding 
change. The purer and brighter material of the higher 
Eegions of the Desire World replaces the murky colors 
of the lower part. The desire body also grows in size, so 
that in a saint it is truly a glorious object to behold, the 
purity of its colors and its luminous transparency being 
beyond adequate simile. It must be seen to be appreciated. 

At present the materials of both the lower and ,the 
higher Eegions enter into the composition of the desire 
bodies of the great majority of mankind. None are so 
bad that they have not some good trait. This is expressed 
in the materials of the higher Eegions which we find in 
their desire bodies. But^ on the other hand, very, very few 
are so good that they do not use some of the materials of 
the lower Eegions. 

In the same way that the planetary vital and desire 
bodies inter-penetrate the dense material of the Earth, as 
we saw in the illustration of the sponge, the sand and the 
water, so the vital and desire bodies inter-penetrate the 
dense body of plant, animal and man. But during the 
life of man his desire body is not shaped like his dense and 
vital bodies. After death it assumes that shape. During 
life it has the appearance of a luminous ovoid which, in 



THE FOUE KINGDOMS 67 

waking hours, completely surrounds the dense body, as 
the albumen does the yolk of an egg. It extends from 
twelve to sixteen inches beyond the dense body. In this 
desire body there are a number of sense-centers, but, in 
the great majority of people, they are latent. It is the 
awakening of these centers of perception that corresponds 
to the opening of the blind man^s eyes in our former illus- 
tration. The matter in the human desire body is in in- 
cessant motion of inconceivable rapidity. There is in it 
no settled place for any particle, as in the dense body. 
The matter that is at the head one moment may be at the 
feet in the next and back again. There are no organs in the 
desire body, as in the dense and vital bodies, but there are 
centers of perception, which, when active, appear as vor- 
tices, always remaining in the same relative position to the 
dense body, most of them about the head. In the majority 
of people they are mere eddies and are of no use as centers 
of perception. They may be awakened in all, however, 
but different methods produce different results. 

In the involuntary clairvoyant developed along improper, 
negative lines, these vortices turn from right to left, or 
in the opposite direction to the hands of a clock — counter- 
clockwise. 

In the desire body of the properly trained voluntary 
clairvoyant, they turn in the same direction as the hands 
of a clock — clockwise, glowing with exceeding splendor, far 
surpassing the brilliant luminosity of the ordinary desire 
body. These centers furnish him with means for the per- 
ception of things in the Desire World and he sees, and in- 
vestigates as he wills, while the person whose centers turn 
counter-clockwise is like a mirror, which reflects what 
passes before it. Such a person is incapable of reaching 
out for information. The reason for this belongs to a later 



68 EOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

chapter, but the above is one of the fundamental differences 
between a medium and a properly trained clairvoyant. 
It is impossible for most people to distinguish between 
the two ; yet there is one infallible rule that can be followed 
by anyone : No genuinely developed seer will ever exercise 
this faculty for money or its equivalent; nor will he use it 
to gratify curiosity; hut only to help humanity. 

No one capable of teaching the proper method for the 
development of this faculty will ever charge so much a 
lesson. Those demanding money for the exercise of, or for 
giving lessons in these things never have anything worth 
paying for. The above rule is a safe and sure guide, which 
all may follow with absolute confidence. 

In a far distant future man's desire body will become as 
definitely organized as are the vital and dense bodies. 
When that stage is reached we shall all have the power to 
function in the desire body as we now do in the dense 
body, which is the oldest and best organized of these bodies 
of man — the desire body being the youngest. 

The desire body is rooted in the liver, as the vital body, 
is in the spleen. 

In all warm-blooded creatures, which are the highest 
evolved, and have feelings, passions and emotions, which 
reach outward into the world with desire, which may be 
said to really live in the fuller meaning of the term and not 
merely vegetate — in all such creatures the currents of the 
desire body flow outward from the liver. The desire stuff 
is continually welling out in streams or currents which 
travel in curved lines to every point of the periphery of 
the ovoid and then return to the liver through a number 
of vortices, much as boiling water is continually welling 
outward from the source of heat and returning to it after 
completing its cycle. 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS , 69 

The plants are devoid of this impelling, energizing 
principle, hence they cannot show life and motion as can 
the more highly developed organisms. 

Where there is vitality and motion, but no red blood, 
there is no separate desire body. The creature is simply 
in the transition stage from plant to animal and therefore 
it moves entirely in the strength of the group-spirit. 

In the co/(i-blooded animals which have a liver and red 
Wood, there is a separate desire body and the group-spirit 
directs the currents inward^ because in their case the sepa- 
rate spirit (of the individual fish or reptile for instance) 
is entirely outside the dense vehicle. 

When the organism has evolved so far that the separate 
spirit can commence to draw into its vehicles then it (the 
individual spirit) commences to direct the currents out- 
ward, and we see the beginning of passionate existence and 
warm blood. It is the warm, red blood in the liver of the 
organism sufficient!}^ evolved to have an i/zdwelling spirit 
which energizes the outgoing currents of desire stuff 
that cause the animal or the man to display desire and 
passion. In the case of the animal the spirit is not yet 
entirely mdwelling. It does not become so until the points 
in the vital body and the dense body come into correspond- 
ence, as explained in Chapter XII. For this reason the 
animal is not a "liver," that is, he does not live as com- 
pletely as does man, not being capable of as fine desires and 
emotions, because not as fully conscious. The mammalia of 
today are on a higher plane than was man at the animal 
stage of his evolution, because they have warm, red blood, 
which man did not have at that stage. This difference in 
status is accounted for by the spiral path of evolution, 
which also accounts for the fact that man is a higher type 
of humanity than the present Angels were in their human 



70 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTIOISr 

stage. The present mammalia, which have in their animal 
stage attained to the possession of warm, red blood, and are 
therefore capable of experiencing desire and emotion to 
some extent, will, in the Jupiter Period, be a purer and 
better type of humanity than we are now, while from 
among our present humanity there will be some, even in 
the Jupiter Period, who will be openly and avowedly 
wicked. Moreover, they will not then be able to conceal 
their passions as is now possible, but will be unabashed, 
about their evil-doing. 

In the light of this exposition of the connection between 
j;he liver and the life of the organism, it is noteworthy 
that in several European languages (English, German, 
and the Scandinavian tongues) the same word signifies 
the organ of the body (the liver) and also "one who lives." 

When we turn our attention to the four kingdoms in 
their relation to the World of Thought we find that min- 
erals, plants and animals lack a vehicle correlating them to 
that World. Yet we know some animals think, but they 
are the highest domesticated animals which have come 
into close touch with man for generations and have thus 
developed a faculty not possessed by other animals, which 
have not had that advantage. This is on the same princi- 
ple that a highly charged wire will "induce" a weaker cur- 
rent of electricity in a wire brought close to it ; or that a 
man of strong morals will arouse a like tendency in a 
weaker nature, while one morally weak will be overthrown 
if brought within the influence of evil characters. All we 
do, say, or are, reflects itself in our surroundings. This is 
why the highest domestic animals think. They are the 
highest of their kind, almost on the point of individualiza- 
tion, and man's thought vibrations have "induced" in them 
a similar activity of a lower order. With the exceptions 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 71 

noted, the animal kingdom has not acquired the faculty of 
thought. They are not individualized. This is the great 
and cardinal difference between the human and other king- 
doms. Man is an individual. The animals, plants and 
minerals are divided into species. They are not individual- 
ized in the same sense that man is. 

It is true that we divide mankind into races, tribes and 
nations ; we note the difference between the Caucassian, the 
Negro, the Indian, etc.; but that is not to the point. If 
we wish to study the characteristics of the lion or the 
elephant or any other species of the lower animals, all that 
is necessary is to take any member of that species for that 
purpose. When we learn the characteristics of one animal, 
we know the characteristics of the species to which it be- 
longs. All members of the same animal tribe are alike. 
That is the point. A lion, or its father, or its son, all 
look alike; there is no difference in the way they will act 
under like conditions. All have the same likes and dis- 
likes; one is the same as another. 

Not so with human beings. If we want to know about 
the characteristics of Negroes, it is not enough that we 
examine one single individual. It would be necessary to 
examine each individually, and even then we will arrive at 
no know^ledge concerning Negroes "as a whole," simply 
because that which was a characteristic of the single indi- 
vidual does not apply to the race collectively. 

If we desire to know the character of Abraham Lin- 
coln it will avail us nothing to study his father, his grand- 
father, or his son, for they would differ entirely. Each 
would have his own peculiarities quite distinct from the 
idiosyncracies of Abraham Lincoln. 

On the other hand, minerals, plants, and animals are 
described if we devote our attention to the description of 



72 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

one of each species ; while there are as many species among 
human beings as there are individuals. Each individual 
person is a, "species/^ a law unto himself, altogether sepa- 
rate and apart from any other individual, as different from 
his fellow-men as one species in the lower kingdom is from 
another. We may write the biography of a man, but an 
animal can have no biography. This is because there is in 
each man an individual, indwelling spirit which dictates 
the thoughts and actions of each individual human being; 
while there is one "group-spirit" common to all the differ- 
ent animals or plants of the same species. The group- 
spirit works on them all from the outside. The tiger 
which roams in the wilds of the Indian Jungle and the 
tiger penned up in the cage of a menagerie are both ex- 
pressions of the same group-spirit. It influences both 
alike from the Desire World, distance being almost anni- 
hilated in the inner Worlds. 

The group-spirits of the three lower kingdoms are vari- 
ously located in the higher Worlds, as we shall see when 
we investigate the consciousness of the different kingdoms ; 
but to properly comprehend the positions of these group- 
spirits in the inner Worlds it is necessary to remember 
and to clearly understand what has been said about all the 
forms that are in the visible world having crystallized from 
models and ideas in the inner Worlds, as illustrated by the 
architect's house and the inventor's machine. As the juices 
of the soft body of the snail crystallize into the hard shell 
which it carries upon its back, so the Spirits in the higher 
Worlds have, in a similar manner, crystallized out from 
themselves the dense, material bodies of the different 
kingdoms. 

Thus the so-called "liigher" bodies, although so fine and 
cloudy as to be invisible, are not by any means "emana- 



THE FOUE KINGDOMS 



73 



tions" from the dense body, but the dense vehicles of all 
kingdoms correspond to the shell of the snail, which is 
crystallized from its juices, the snail representing the 
spirit; and the juices of its body in their progress towards 
crystallization representing the mind, desire body and vital 
body. These various vehicles were emanated hy the spirit 
from itself for the purpose of gaining experience through 
them. It is the spirit that moves the dense body where 
it will, as the snail moves its house, and not the body that 
controls the movements of the spirit. The more closely the 
spirit is able to enter into touch with its vehicle the better 
can it control and express itself through that vehicle, and 
vice versa. That is the key to the different states of con- 
sciousness in the different kingdoms. A study of diagrams 
3 and 4 should give a clear understanding of the vehicles 
of each kingdom, the manner in which they are correlated 



DIAGRAM 3 

Showing the vehicles of each kingdom, and the manner in which 
such vehicles are correlated to the different worlds. 





KINGDOM 


WORLD 


Mineral 


Plant 


Animal 


Man 


Region of 

Abstract Thought . . . . 

and 

Region of 
Concrete Thought 


Group-spiiit 
and Ego 

No vehicle 


Group-spirit 
and Ego 

No vehicle 


Group-spirit 
and Ego 

No vehicle 


Ego 
Mind 


Desire World 


No vehicle 


No vehicle 


Desire body 


Desire body 




Physical World; 
includes the 

Etheric Region 

and the 
.Chemical Region 


No vehicle 
Dense body 


Vital body 
Dense body 


Vital body 
Dense body 


Vital body 
Dense body 



u 



ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 



DIAGRAM 4 

Showing the state of consciousness appertaining to each kingdom. 



I' 


KINGDOM 


State of 


WORLD 


Mineral 


Plant 


Animal 


Man 


Conscious- 
ness 


Region of 

Abstract Thought 

and 

Region of 
Concrete Thought 


Group- 
spirit 
and 
Ego 


Group- 
spirit 
and 
Ego 






Trance- 
like 

Dreamless 
Sleep 


Desire World 






Group- 
spirit 
and 
Ego 




Dream 
Conscious- 


• 


ness 


Physical World; 

includes the 
Etheric Region 


Dense 
body 


Vital 
body 
Dense 
body 


Desire 
body 
Vital 
body 
Dense 
body 


Ego 

Mind 

Desire 
body 
Vital 
body 
Dense 
body 


Waking 


and the 
Chemical Region 


Conscious- 
ness 



to the different Worlds and the resulting state of con- 
sciousness. 

From diagram 3 we learn that the separate Ego is 
definitely segregated within the Universal Spirit in the 
Region of Abstract Thought. It shows that only man 
possesses the complete chain of vehicles correlating him 
to all divisions of the three Worlds. The animal lacks one 
link of chain — the mind; the plant lacks two links, the 
mind and the desire body; and the mineral lacks three 
links in the chain of vehicles necessary to function in a 
self-conscious manner in the Physical World — the mind, 
the desire and the vital bodies. 

The reason for the various deficiencies is that the Min- 
eral Kingdom is the expression of the latest stream of 
evolving life ; the Plant Kingdom is ensouled by a life wave 
that has been longer upon the path of evolution; the life 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 75 

wave of the animal Kingdom has a still longer past ; while 
Man, that is to say, the life now expressing itself in the 
human form, has behind it the longest journey of all the 
four kingdoms, and therefore leads. In time, the tliree 
life-waves which now animate the three lower kingdoms 
will reach the human, and we shall have passed to higher 
stages of development. 

To understand the degree of consciousness which results 
from the possession of the vehicles used by the life evolving 
in the four kingdoms, we turn our attention to diagram 4, 
which shows that man, the Ego, the Thinker, has de- 
scended into the Chemical Eegion of the Physical World. 
Here he has marshaled all his vehicles, thereb}^ attaining 
the state of waking consciousness. He is learning to con- 
trol his vehicles. The organs of neither the desire body 
nor the mind are yet evolved. The latter is not yet even 
a body. At present it is simply a link, a sheath for the 
use of the Ego as a focusing point. It is the last of the 
tehicles that have been built. The spirit works gradually 
from finer into coarser substance, the vehicles also being 
built in fine substance first, then in coarser and coarser 
substance. The dense body was built first and has now 
come into its fourth stage of density; the vital body is 
in its third stage and the desire body in its second, hence it 
is still cloud-like, and the sheath of mind is filmier still. 
As those vehicles have not, as yet, evolved any organs, it is 
clear that they alone would be useless as vehicles of con- 
sciousness. The Ego, however, enters into the dense body 
and connects these organless vehicles with the physical 
sense-centers and thus attains the waking state of con- 
sciousness in the Physical World. 

The student should particularly note that it is because 
of their connection with the splendidly organized mechan- 



76 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

ism of the dense body that these higher vehicles become of 
value at present. He will thus avoid a mistake frequently 
made by people who, when they come into the knowledge 
that there are higher bodies, grow to despise the dense 
vehicle; to speak of it as "low" and "vile" — turning their 
eyes to heaven and wishing that they might soon be able 
to leave this earthly lump of clay and fly about in their 
"higher vehicles/' 

These people generally do not realize the difference be- 
tween "higher" and "perfect." Certainly, the dense body 
is the lowest vehicle in the sense that it is the most un- 
wieldy, correlating man to the world of sense with all the 
limitations thus implied. As stated, it has an enormous 
period of evolution back of it; is in its fourth stage of 
development and has now reached a great and marvelous 
degree of efficiency. It will, in time, reach perfection, 
but even at present it is the best organized of man's vehi- 
cles. The vital body is in its third stage of evolution, and 
less completely organized than the dense body. The desire 
body and the mind are, as yet, mere clouds— almost en- 
tirely unorganized. In the very lowest human beings 
these vehicles are not even definite ovoids; they are more 
or less undefined in form. 

The dense body is a wonderfully constructed instrument 
and should be recognized as such by everyone pretending 
to have any knowledge of the constitution of man. Observe 
the femur, for instance. This bone carries the entire 
weight of the body. On the outside it is built of a thin 
layer of compact bone, strengthened on the inside by beams 
and cross-beams of cancellated bone, in such a marvelous 
manner that the most skilled bridge or construction en- 
gineer could never accomplish the feat of building a pillar 
of equal strength with so little weight. The bones of the 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 77 

skull are built in a similar mauner, always the least possible 
material is used and the maximum of strength obtained. 
Consider the wisdom manifested in the construction of the 
heart and then question if this superb mechanism deserves 
to be despised. The wise man is grateful for his dense 
body and takes the best possible care of it, because he knows 
that it is the most valuable of his present instruments. 

The animal spirit has in its descent reached only the 
Desire World. It has not yet evolved to the point where 
it can "enter" a dense body. Therefore the animal has no 
individual indwelling spirit, but a group-spirit, which 
directs it from without. The animal has the dense body, 
the vital body and the desire body, but the group-spirit 
which directs it is outside. The vital body and the desire 
body of an animal are not entirely within the dense body, 
especially where the head is concerned. For instance, the 
etheric head of a horse projects far beyond and above the 
dense physical head. When, as in rare cases it happens, 
the etheric head of a horse draws into the head of the 
dense body, that horse can learn to read, count and work 
examples in elementary arithmetic. To this peculiarity is 
also due the fact that horses, dogs, cats and other domesti- 
cated animals sense the Desire World, though not always 
realizing the difference between it and the Physical World. 
A horse will shy at the sight of a figure invisible t© the 
driver ; a cat will go through the motions of rubbing itself 
against invisible legs. The cat sees the ghost, however, 
without realizing that it has no dense legs available for 
frictional purposes. The dog, wiser than cat or horse, will 
often sense that there is something he does not under- 
stand about the appearance of a dead master whose hands it 
cannot lick. It will howl mournfully and slink into a 
corner with its tail between its legs. The following illus- 



78 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

tration may perhaps be of service to show the difference 
between the man with his indwelling spirit and the animal 
with its group-spirit. 

Let us imagine a room divided by means of a curtain, 
one side of the curtain representing the Desire World and 
the otjier the Physical. There are two men in the room, 
one in each division; they cannot see each other, nor can 
they get into the same division. There are, however, ten 
holes in the curtain and the man who is in the division 
representing the Desire World can put his ten fingers 
through these holes into the other division, representing 
ihe Physical World. He now furnishes an excellent rep- 
resentation of the group-spirit which is in the Desire 
World. The fingers represent the animals belonging to 
one species. He is able to move them as he wills, but he 
cannot use them as freely nor as intelligently as the man 
who is walking about in the Physical division uses his body. 
The latter sees the fingers which are thrust through the 
curtain and he observes that they all move, but he does 
not see the connection between them. To him it appears 
as if they were all separate and distinct from one another. 
He cannot see that they are the fingers of the man behind 
the veil and are governed in their movements by his in- 
telligence. If he hurts one of the fingers, it is not only 
the finger that he hurts, but chiefly the man on the other 
side of the curtain. If an animal is hurt, it suffers, but not 
to the degree that the group-spirit does. The finger 
has no individualized consciousness; it moves as the man 
dictates — so do the animals move as the group-spirit dic- 
tates. We hear of "animal instinct" and "blind instinct." 
There is no such vague, indefinite thing as "blind" in- 
stinct. There is nothing "blind" about the way the group- 
spirit guides its members — there is Wisdom, spelled with 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS "^g 

capitals. The trained clairvoyant, when functioning in the 
Desire AYorld, can communicate with these spirits of the 
animal species and finds them much more intelligent than 
a large percentage of human beings. He can see the mar- 
velous insight they display in marshaling the animals 
which are their physical bodies. 

It is the spirit of the group which gathers its flocks of 
birds in the fall and compels them to migrate to the south, 
neither too early nor too late to escape the winter's chilly 
blast ; that directs their return in the spring, causing them 
to fly at just the proper altitude, which differs for the 
different species. 

The group-spirit of the beaver teaches it to build its 
dam across a stream at exactly the proper angle. It con- 
siders the rapidity of the flow, and all the circumstances, 
precisely as a skilled engineer would do, showing that it is 
as up-to-date in every particular of the craft as the col- 
lege-bred, technically-educated man. It is the wisdom of 
the group-spirit that directs the building of the hexagon 
cell of the bee with such geometrical nicety; that teaches 
the snail to fashion its house in an accurate, beautiful 
spiral; that teaches the ocean mollusk the art of decorat- 
ing its iridescent shell. Wisdom, wisdom everywhere ! so 
grand, so great that one who looks with an observant eye 
is filled with amazement and reverence. 

At this point the thought will naturally occur that if the 
animal group-spirit is so wise, considering the short period 
of evolution of the animal as compared with that of man, 
why does not the latter display wisdom to a much greater 
degree and why must man be taught to build dams and 
geometrize, all of which the group-spirit does without 
being taught? 

The answer to that question has to do with the descent of 



80 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the Universal Spirit into matter of ever-increasing density. 
In the higher Worlds, where its vehicles are fewer and 
finer, it is in closer touch with cosmic wisdom which shines 
out in a manner inconceivable in the dense Physical 
World, but as the spirit descends, the light of wisdom 
becomes temporarily more and more dimmed, until in the 
densest of all the Worlds, it is held almost entirely in 
abeyance. 

An illustration will make this clearer. The hand is 
man's most valuable servant; its dexterity enables it to 
respond to his slightest bidding. In some vocations, such 
•as bank teller, the delicate touch of the hand becomes so 
sensitive, that it is able to distinguish a counterfeit coin 
from a genuine in a way so marvelous that one would 
almost think the hand were endowed w4th individual in- 
telligence. 

Its greatest efficiency is perhaps reached in the produc- 
tion of music. It is capable of producing the most beauti- 
ful, soul-stirring melodies. The delicate, caressing touch 
of the hand elicits the tenderest strains of soul-speech from 
the instrument, telling of the sorrows, the joys, the hopes, 
the fears and the longings of the soul in a way that noth- 
ing but music can do. It is the language of the heaven 
world, the spirit's true home, and comes to the divine 
spark imprisoned in flesh as a message from its native land. 
Music appeals to all, regardless of race, creed, or other 
w^orldly distinction. The higher and more spiritual the 
individual the plainer does it speak to him and even "the 
savage breast" is not unmoved by it. 

Let us now imagine a master-musician putting on thin 
gloves and trying to play his violin. We note at once that 
the delicate touch is less subtle; the soul of the music is 
gone. If he puts another and a heavier pair of gloves over 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 81 

the first pair, his hand is hampered to such an extent that 
he may occasionally create a discord instead of the former 
harmony. Should he at last put on, in addition to the 
two pairs of gloves already hampering him, a pair of still 
heavier mittens, he would, temporaril}^, be entirely unable 
to play, and one who had not heard him play previously to 
the time he put on the gloves and the mittens, would 
naturally think that he had never been able to do so, espe- 
cially if ignorant of the hampering of his hands. 

So it is with the Spirit; every step down, every de- 
scent into coarser matter is to it what the putting on of a 
pair of gloves would be to the musician. Every step down 
limits its power of expression until it has become accus- 
tomed to the limitations and has found its focus, in the 
same way that the eye must find its focus after we enter a 
house on a bright summer day. The pupil of the eye con- 
tracts to its limit in the glare of the sun and on entering 
the house all seems dark; but, as the pupil expands, and 
admits the light, the man is enabled to see as well in the 
dimmer light of the house as he did in the sunlight. 

The purpose of man's evolution here is to enable him 
to find his focus in the Physical World, where at present 
the light of wisdom seems obscured. But when in time we 
have "found the light," the wisdom of man will shine forth 
in his actions, and far surpass the wisdom expressed by 
the group-spirit of the animal. 

Besides, a distinction must be made between the group- 
spirit and the virgin spirits of the life wave now express- 
ing itself as animals. The group-spirit belongs to a dif- 
ferent evolution, and is the guardian of the animal spirits. 

The dense body in which we function is composed of 
numerous cells, each having separate cell-consciousness, 
though of a very low order. While these cells form part of 



S2 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

our body they are subjected to and dominated by ov/r 
consciousness. An animal group-spirit functions in a spirit- 
ual hody, -v^^hieh is its lowest vehicle. This vehicle consists 
of a varying number of virgin spirits imbued for the time 
being with the consciousness of the group-spirit. The 
latter directs the vehicles built by the virgin spirits in its 
charge, caring for them and helping them to evolve their 
vehicles. As its wards evolve, the group-spirit also evolves, 
undergoing a series of metamorphoses, in a manner similar 
to that in which we grow and gain experience by taking 
into our bodies the cells of the food we eat, thereby also 
•raising their consciousness by enduing them with ours for 
a time. 

Thus while a separate, self-conscious Ego is within each 
human body and dominates the actions of its particular 
vehicle, the spirit of the separate animal is not yet individ- 
ualized and self-conscious, but forms part of the vehicle of 
a self-conscious entity belonging to a different evolution — 
the group-spirits. 

This group-spirit dominates the actions of the animals 
in harmony with cosmic law, until the virgin spirits in its 
charge shall have gained self-consciousness and become 
human. Then they will gradually manifest wills of their 
own, gaining more and more freedom from the group-spirit 
and becoming responsible for their own actions. The group- 
spirit will influence them, however (although in a de- 
creasing degree), as race, tribe, community, or family 
spirit until each individual has become capable of acting 
in full harmony with cosmic law. Then and then only will 
the Ego be entirely free and independent of the group- 
spirit. The latter will then enter a higher phase of 
evolution. 

The position occupied by the group-spirit in the Desire 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 83 

World gives to the animal a consciousness different from 
that of man, who has a clear, definite waking conscious- 
ness. Man sees things outside of himself in sharp, dis- 
tinct outlines. Owing to the spiral path of evolution, the 
higher domestic animals, particularly the dog, horse, cat 
and elephant see objects in somewhat the same way, though 
perhaps not so clearly defined. All other animals have 
an internal "picture consciousness" similar to the dream- 
state in man. When such an animal is confronted by an 
object, a picture is immediately perceived within, accom- 
panied by a strong impression that the object is inimical 
or beneficial to its welfare. If the feeling is one of fear, 
it is associated with a suggestion from the group-spirit how 
to escape the threatened danger. This negative state of 
consciousness renders it easy for the group-spirit to guide 
the dense bodies of its charges by suggestion, as the animals 
have no will of their own. 

Man is not so easily managed from without, either with 
or without his consent. As evolution progresses and man's 
will develops more and more, he will become non-amenable 
to outside suggestion and free to do as he pleases regard- 
less of suggestions from others. This is the chief difference 
between man and the other kingdoms. They act accord- 
ing to law and the dictates of the group-spirit (which we 
call instinct), while man is becoming more and more a 
law unto himself. We do not ask the mineral whether 
or not it will crystallize, nor the flower whether it will or 
will not bloom, nor the lion whether it will or will not 
cease to prey. They are all, in the smallest as in the great- 
est matter, under the absolute domination of the group- 
spirit, being without free will and initiative which, in 
some degree, are possessed by every human being. All 
animals of the same species look nearly alike, because they 



84 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

emanate from the same group-spirit, while among the fif- 
teen hundred millions of human beings who people the 
Earth no two look exactly alike, not even twins when ado- 
lescent, because the stamp that is put upon each by the 
indwelling individual Ego makes the difference in appear- 
ance as well as in character. 

That all oxen thrive on grass, and all lions eat flesh, 
while "one man's meat is another man's poison" is an- 
other illustration of the all-inclusive influence of the 
group-spirit as contrasted with the Ego which makes each 
human being require a different proportion of food from 
every other. Doctors note with perplexity the same pecu- 
liarity in administering medicine. Its acts differently 
upon different individuals, while the same medicine will 
produce identical effects on two animals of the same spe- 
cies, owing to the fact that animals all follow the dictates 
of the group-spirit and Cosmic Law — always act similarly 
in identical circumstances. Man alone is, in some measure, 
able to follow his own desires within certain limits. That 
his mistakes are many and grievous, is granted, and , to 
many it might seem better if he were forced into the right 
way, but if this were done, he would never learn to do 
right. Lessons of discrimination between good and evil 
cannot be learned unless he is free to choose his own course 
and has learned to eschew the wrong as a veritable "womb 
of pain." If he did right only because he had no choice, 
and had no chance to do otherwise, he would be but an 
automaton and not an evolving God. As the builder 
learns by his mistakes, correcting past errors in future 
buildings, so man, by means of his blunders, and the pain 
they cause him, is attaining to a higher (because self- 
conscious) wisdom than the animal, which acts wisely 
because it is impelled to action by the group-spirit. In 



THE FOUR KINGDOMS 85 

time the animal will become human, have liberty of choice 
and will make mistakes and learn by them as we do now. 

Diagram 4 shows that the group-spirit of the plant 
kingdom has its lowest vehicle in the Region of Concrete 
Thought. It is two steps removed from its dense vehicle 
and consequently the plants have a consciousness corre- 
sponding to that of dreamless sleep. The group-spirit of 
the mineral has its lowest vehicle in the Region of Abstract 
Thought and it is, therefore, three steps removed from its 
dense vehicle ; hence it is in a state of deep unconsciousness 
similar to the trance condition. 

We have now shown that man is an individual indwell- 
ing spirit, an Ego separate from all other entities, directing 
and working in one set of vehicles from within, and that 
plants and animals are directed from without by a group- 
spirit having jurisdiction over a number of animals or 
plants in our Physical World. They are separate only in 
appearance. 

The relations of plant, animal and man to the life cur- 
rents in the Earth's atmosphere are symbolically repre- 
sented by the cross. The Mineral Kingdom is not repre- 
sented, because as we have seen, it possesses no individual 
vital body, hence cannot be the vehicle for currents belong- 
ing to the higher realms. Plato, who was an Initiate, often 
gave out occult truths. He said "The World-Soul is 
crucified.'' 

The lower limb of the cross indicates the plant with its 
root in the chemical mineral soil. The group-spirits of 
plants are at the center of the Earth. They are (it will 
be remembered) in the Region of Concrete Thought, which 
inter-penetrates the Earth, as do all the other Worlds. 
From these group-spirits flow streams or currents in all 



86 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

directions to the periphery of the Earth, passing outward 
through the length of plant or tree. 

Man is represented by the upper limb ; he is the inverted 
plant. The plant takes its food through the root. Man 
takes his food through the head. The plant stretches its 
generative organs towards the sun. Man, the inverted 
plant, turns his towards the center of the earth. The plant 
is sustained by the spiritual currents of the group-spirit in 
the center of the earth, which enter into it by way of the 
root. Later it will be shown that the highest spiritual 
influence comes to man from the sun, which sends its rays 
•through man, the inverted plant, from the heat" downwards. 
The plant inhales the poisonous carbon-dioxide exhaled by 
man and exhales the life-giving oxygen used by him. 

The animal is between the plant and the man. Its spine 
is in a horizontal position and through it play the cur- 
rents of the animal group-spirit which encircle the Earth 
and thus represent the horizontal limb of the cross. 

No animal can be made to remain constantly upright, 
because in that case, the currents of the group-spirit could 
not guide it and if it were not sufficiently individualized to 
endure the spiritual currents which enter the vertical 
human spine, it would die. It is necessary that a vehicle 
for the expression of an individual Ego shall have three 
things — an upright walk, that it may come into touch with 
the currents just mentioned; an upright larynx, for only 
such a larynx is capable of speech (parrots and starlings 
are examples of this effect of the upright larynx) ; and, 
owing to the solar currents, it must have warm blood. The 
latter is of the utmost importance to the Ego, which will be 
logically explained and illustrated later. These requisites 
are simply mentioned here as the last words on the status 
of the four kingdoms in relation to each other and to the 
Worlds. 



CHAPTER III. 

Man and the Method of Evolution. 

Activities of Life; Memory and Soul-Growth. 

OUE study thus far of the seven Worlds or states of 
matter has shown us that each serves a definite 
purpose in the economy of nature, and that God, 
the Great Spirit, in Whom we actually and in fact "live 
and move and have our being," is the Power that per- 
meates and sustains the whole Universe with Its Life; but 
while that Life flows into and is immanent in every atom of 
the six lower Worlds and all contained therein, in the 
Seventh — the highest — the Triune God alone is. 

The next highest or sixth, realm is the World of Virgin 
Spirits. Here those sparks from the divine "Flam-" have 
their being before they commence their long pilgrimage 
through the five denser Worlds for the purpose of develop- 
ing latent potentialities into dynamic powers. As the seed 
unfolds its hidden possibilities by being buried in the soil, 
so these virgin spirits will, in time, when they have passed 
through matter (the school of experience), also become 
divine "Flames," capable of bringing forth universes from 
themselves. 

The five Worlds constitute the field of man's evolution, 
the three lower or denser being the scene of the present 
phase of his development. We will now consider him as 
related to these five Worlds by means of his appropriate 
vehicles, remembering the two grand divisions into which 
two of these Worlds are divided, and that man has a vehicle 
for each of these divisions. 

87 



88 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

THE SEVENFOLD CONSTITUTION OF MAN. 
World or Eegion. Corresponding Vehicle. 

5 . .World of- Divine Spirit Divine Spirit ■>, m, -n 

4. . World of Life Spirit Life Spirit ! 4.^^ . , . ! The 

[Thought ) Eegion of Concrete Thought.. Mind.. (The Mind is 

the mirror 
through which 
the threefold 
spirit reflects 
itself i n t h e 
threefold 
body; the fo- 
cussing - point. 
See Diagr. 1.) 
•2 .Desire World. .......... .Desire Body ^ ^^^ Three-fold Body; 

lifcal p*h^^^^^^§^«^--^^*^l^°^^ hhe Shadow of the 
(World I Chemical Eegion. Dense Body J Threefold Spirit. 

In the waking state these vehicles are all together. They 
inter-penetrate one another as the blood, the lymph, and 
other juices of the body inter-penetrate. Thus is the Ego 
enabled to act in the Physical World. 

We ourselves, as Egos, function directly in the subtle 
substance of the Eegion of Abstract Thought, which we 
have specialized within the periphery of our individual 
aura. Thence we view the impressions made by the outer 
world upon the vital body through the senses, together with 
the feelings and emotions generated by them in the desire 
body, and mirrored in the mind. 

From these mental images we form our conclusions, in 
the substance of the Eegion of Abstract Thought, con- 
cerning the subjects with which they deal. These con- 
clusions are ideas. By the power of will we project an 
idea- through the mind, where it takes concrete shape as 
a thought-form by drawing mind-stuff around itself from 
the Eegion of Concrete Thought. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 89 

The mind is like the projecting lens of a stereopticon. 
It projects the image in one of three directions, according 
to the will of the thinker, which ensouls the thought-form. 

(1) It may be projected against the desire body in an 
endeavor to arouse feeling which will lead to immediate 
action. 

(a) If the thought awakens Interest one of the twin 
forces, Attraction or Repulsion, will be stirred up. 

If Attraction, the centrifugal force, is aroused, it seizes 
the thought, whirls it into the desire body, endows the 
image with added life and clothes it with desire-stuff. 
Then the thought is able to act on the etheric brain, and 
propel the vital force through the appropriate brain cen- 
ters and nerves to the voluntary muscles which perform 
the necessary action. Thus the force in the thought is 
expended and the image remains in the ether of the vital 
body as memory of the act and the feeling that caused it. 

(b) Eepulsion is the centripetal force and if that is 
aroused by the thought there will be a struggle between 
the spiritual force (the will of the man) within the 
thought-form, and the desire body. This is the battle be- 
tween conscience and desire, the higher and the lower 
nature. The spiritual force, in spite of resistance, will 
seek to clothe the thought-form in the desire-stuff needed 
to manipulate the brain and muscles. The force of Re- 
pulsion will endeavor to scatter the appropriated material 
and oust the thought. If the spiritual energy is strong 
it may force its way through to the brain centers and hold 
its clothing of desire-stuff while manipulating the vital 
force, thus compelling action, and will then leave upon 
the memory a vivid impression of the struggle and the 
victory. If the spiritual energy is exhausted before action 
has resulted, it will be overcome by the force of Repul- 



90 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sion, and will be stored in the memory, as are all other 
thought-forms when they have expended their energy. 

(c) If the thought-form meets the withering feeling 
of Indifference it depends upon the spiritual energy con- 
tained in it whether it will be able to compel action, or 
simply leave a weak impress upon the reflecting ether of 
the vital body after its kinetic energy has been exhausted. 

(2) Where no immediate action is called for by the 
mental images of impacts from without, these may be 
projected directly upon the reflecting ether, together with 
the thoughts occasioned by them, to be used at some future 
time. The spirit, working through the mind, has instant 
access to the storehouse of conscious memory and may at 
any time resurrect any of the pictures found there, endue 
them with new spiritual force, and project them upon 
the desire body to compel action. Each time such a pic- 
ture is thus used it will gain in vividness, strength and 
efficiency, and will compel action along its particular line 
more readily than on previous occasions, because it cuts 
grooves, and produces the phenomenon of thought, ^^gain-. 
ing" or "growing" upon us by repetition. 

(3) A third way of using a thought-form is when the 
thinker projects it toward another mind to act as a sug- 
gestion, to carry information, etc., as in thought-trans- 
ference, or it may be directed against the desire body of 
another person to compel action, as in the case of a hypno- 
tist influencing a victim at a distance. It will then act 
in precisely the same manner as if it were the victim's 
own thought. If in line with his proclivities it will act 
as per paragraph la. If contrary to his nature, as des- 
cribed in lb or Ic. 

When the work designed for such a projected thought- 
form has been accomplished, or its energy expended in 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 91 

vain attempts to achieve its object, it gravitates back to 
its creator, bearing with it the indehble record of the jour- 
ney. Its success or failure is imprinted on the negative 
atoms of the reflecting ether of its creator's vital body, 
where it forms that part of the record of the thinker's 
life and action which is sometimes called the sub-conscious 
mind. 

This record is much more important than the memory 
to which we have conscious access, for the latter is made 
up from imperfect and illusive sense-perceptions and is 
the voluntary memory or conscious mind. 

The involuntary memory or sub-conscious mind comes 
into being in a different way, altogether beyond our con- 
trol at present. As the ether carries to the sensitive film 
in the camera an accurate impresion of the surrounding 
landscape, taking in the minutest detail regardless of 
whether the photographer has observed it or not, so the 
ether contained in the air we inspire carries with it an 
accurate and detailed picture of all our surroundings. 
Not only of material things, but also the conditions ex- 
isting each moment within our aura. The slightest 
thought, feeling or emotion is transmitted to the lungs, 
w^here it is injected into the blood. The blood is one of 
the highest products of the vital body as it is the carrier 
of nourishment to every part of the body, and the direct 
vehicle of the Ego. The pictures it contains are impressed 
upon the negative atoms of the vital body, to serve as 
arbiters of the man's destiny in the post mortem state. 

The memory (or so-called mind), both conscious and 
sub-conscious, relates wholly to the experiences of this 
life. It consists of impressions of events on the vital body. 
These may be changed or even eradicated, as noted in 
the explanation concerning the forgiveness of sins which 



92 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

is given a few pages further on^ which change or eradi- 
cation depends upon the elimination of these impressions 
from the ether of the vital body. 

There is also a superconscious memory. That is the 
storehouse of all faculties acquired and knowledge gained 
in previous lives, though perhaps latent in the present 
incarnation. This record is indelibly engraven on the 
life spirit. It manifests ordinarily, though not to the 
full extent, as conscience and character which ensouls all 
thought-forms, sometimes as counsellor, sometimes com- 
pelling action with resistless force, even contrary to reason 
and desire. 

In many women, in whom the vital body is positive, 
and in advanced people of either sex where the vital body 
has been sensitized by a pure and holy life, by prayer and 
concentration, this superconscious memory inherent in 
the life spirit is occasionally, to some extent, above the 
necessity of clothing itself in mind stulf and desire mat- 
ter in order to compel action. It does not always need to 
incur the danger of being subjected to and perhaps over- 
ruled by a process of reasoning. Sometimes, in the form 
of intuition or teaching from within, it impresses itself 
directly upon the reflecting ether of the vital body. The 
more readily we learn to recognize it and follow its dic- 
tates, the oftener it will speak, to our eternal welfare. 

By their activities during waking hours the desire body 
and the mind are constantly destroying the dense vehicle. 
Every thought and movement breaks down tissue. On the 
other hand, the vital body faithfully endeavors to restore 
harmony and build up what the other vehicles are tearing 
down. It is not able, however, to entirely withstand the 
powerful onslaughts of the impulses and thoughts. It 
gradually loses ground and at last there comes a time 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 93 

when it collapses. Its "points" shrivel-up, so to say. The 
vital fluid ceases to flow along the nerves in sufficient 
quantity; the body becomes drowsy, the Thinker is ham- 
pered by its drowsiness and forced to withdraw, taking the 
desire body with him. This withdrawal of the higher 
vehicles leaves the dense body interpenetrated by the vital 
body in the senseless state we call sleep. 

Sleep, however, is not by any means an inactive state, 
as people generally suppose. If it were, the body would 
be no different on awakening in the morning from its con- 
dition when it went to sleep at night; its fatigue would 
be just as great. On the contrary, sleep is a period of 
intense activity and the more intense it is the greater its 
value, for it eliminates the poisons resulting from tissue 
destroyed by the mental and physical activities of the day. 
The tissues are re-built and the rhythm of the body re- 
stored. The more thoroughly this work is done the greater 
the benefit accruing from sleep. 

The Desire World is an ocean of wisdom and harmony. 
Into this the Ego takes the mind and the desire body 
when the lower vehicles have been left in sleep. There the 
first care of the Ego is the restoration of the rhythm and 
harmony of the mind and the desire body. This res- 
toration is accomplished gradually as the harmonious 
vibrations of the Desire World flow through them. There 
is an essence in the Desire World corresponding to the 
vital fluid which permeates the dense body by means of 
the vital body. The higher vehicles, as it were, sleep them- 
selves in this elixir of life. When strengthened, they 
commence work on the vital body, which was left with 
the sleeping dense body. Then the vital body begins to 
specialize the solar energy anew, rebuilding the dense 



94 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

body, using particularly the chemical ether as its medium 
in the process of restoration. 

It is this activity of the different vehicles during sleep 
which forms the basis for the activity of the following 
day. Without that there would be no awakening, for the 
Ego was forced to abandon his vehicles because their weari- 
ness rendered them useless. If the work of removing that 
fatigue were not done, the bodies would remain asleep, 
as sometimes happens in natural trance. It is just because 
of this harmonizing, recuperative activity that sleep is 
better than doctor or medicine in preserving health. Mere 
test is nothing in comparison with sleep. It is only while 
the higher vehicles are in the Desire World that there is 
a total suspension of waste and an influx of restoring 
force. It is true that during rest the vital body is not 
hampered in its work by tissue being broken down by 
active motion and tense muscles, but still it must contend 
with the wasting energy of thought and it does not then 
receive the outside recuperative force from the desire body 
as during sleep. 

It happens, however, that at times the desire body does 
not fully withdraw, so that part of it remains connected 
with the vital body, the vehicle for sense-perception and 
memory. The result is that restoration is only partly ac- 
complished and that the scenes and actions of the Desire 
World are brought into the physical consciousness as 
dreams. Of course most dreams are confused as the axis 
of perception is askew, because of the improper relation 
of one body to another. The memory is also confused by 
this incongruous relation of the vehicles and as a result 
of the restoring force dream-filled sleep is restless and the 
body feels tired on awakening. 

During life the threefold spirit, the Ego, works on and 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 



95 



in the threefold body, to which it is connected by the link 
of mind. This work brings the threefold soul into being. 
The soul is the spiritualized product of the body. 



Dia^renn 5 




As proper food feeds the body in a material sense, so 
the activity of the spirit in the dense body, which results 
in right action, promotes the growth of the Conscious 
Soul. As the forces from the sun play in the vital body 
and nourish it, that it may act on the dense body, so the 
memory of actions done in the dense body — the desires, 
feelings and emotions of the desire body and the thoughts 
and ideas in the mind — cause the growth of the Intel- 



96 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

lectual Soul. In like manner the highest desires and emo^ 
tions of the desire body form the Emotional Soul. 

This threefold soul in turn enhances the consciousness 
of the threefold spirit. 

The Emotional Soul, which is the extract of the desire 
body, adds to the efficiency of the Human Spirit, which 
is the spiritual counterpart of the desire body. 

The Intellectual Soul gives added power to the Life 
Spirit, because the Intellectual Soul is extracted from the 
vital body, which is the material counterpart of the Life 
Spirit. 

The Conscious Soul increases the consciousness of the 
Divine Spirit because it (The Conscious Soul) is the 
extract of the dense body, which latter is the counterpart 
of the Divine Spirit. 

DEi^TH AND Purgatory. 

So man builds and sows until the moment of death ar- 
rives. Then the seed-time and the periods of growth and 
ripening is past. The harvest time has come, when the 
skeleton spectre of Death arrives with his scythe and 
hour-glass. That is a good symbol. The skeleton symbol- 
izes the relatively permanent part of the body. The 
scythe represents the fact that this permanent part, which 
is about to be harvested by the spirit, is the fruitage of the 
life now drawing to a close. The hour-glass in his hand 
indicates that the hour does not strike until the full course 
has been run in harmony with unvarying laws. When 
that moment arrives a separation of the vehicles takes 
place. As his life in the Physical World is ended for the 
time being, it is not necessary for man to retain his dense 
body. The vital body, which as we have explained also 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 97 

belongs to the Physical World, is withdrawn by way of 
the head, leaving the dense body inanimate. 

The higher vehicles — vital body, desire body and mind 
— are seen to leave the dense body with a spiral movement, 
taking with them the soul of one dense atom. Not the 
atom itself, but the farces that pla3^ed through it. The 
results of the experiences passed through in the dense body 
during the life just ended have been impressed upon this 
particular atom. While all the other atoms of the dense 
body have been renewed from time to time, this permanent 
atom has remained. It has remained stable, not only 
through one life, but it has been a part of every dense 
body ever used by a particular Ego. It is withdrawn at 
death only to reawaken at tlie dawn of another physical 
life, to serve again as the nucleus around which is built 
the new dense body to be used by the same Ego. It is 
therefore called the "Seed- Atom." During life the seed- 
atom is situated in the left ventricle of the heart near the 
apex. At death it rises to the brain by way of the pneu- 
mogastric nerve, leaving the dense body, together with 
the higher vehicles, by way of the sutures between the 
parietal and occipital bones. 

When the higher vehicles have left the dense body they 
are still connected wdth it by a slender, glistening, silvery 
cord shaped much like two figure sixes, one upright and 
one reversed, the two connected at the extremities of the 
hooks. (See diagram 5J.) 

One end is fastened to the heart by means of the seed- 
atom and it is the rupture of the seed-atom which causes 
the heart to stop. The cord itself is not snapped until 
the panorama of the past life, contained in the vital body, 
has been reviewed. 

Care should be taken, however, not to cremate or em- 



98 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

balm the body until at least three days after death, for 
while the vital body is with the higher vehicles, and they 
are still connected with the dense body by means of the 
silver cord, any 'post mortem examination or other injury 
to the dense body will be felt, in a measure, by the man. 



DIAGRAM - 5'A 



Point of 
Separation 




The Silver Cord 



Cremation should be particularly avoided in the first three 
days after death, because it tends to disintegrate the vital 
body, which should be kept intact until the panorama of 
the past life has been etched into the desire body. 

The silver cord snaps at the point where the sixes unite, 
half remaining with the dense body and the other half 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 99 

with the higher vehicles. From the time the cord snaps 
the dense body is quite dead. 

In the beginning of 1906 Dr. McDougall made a series 
of experiments in the Massachusetts General Hospital, 
to determine, if possible, whether anything not ordinarily 
visible left the body at death. For this purpose he con- 
structed a pair of scales capable of registering differences 
of one-tenth of an ounce. 

The dying person and his bed were placed on one of 
the platforms of the scale, which was then balanced by 
weights placed on the opposite platform. In every in- 
stance it was noted that at the precise moment when the 
dying person drew the last breath, the platform contain- 
ing the weights dropped with a startling suddenness, lift- 
ing the bed and the body, thus showing that something 
invisible, but having weight, had left the body. There- 
upon the newspapers all over the country announced in 
glaring headlines that Dr. McDougall had "weighed the 
soul.'' 

Occultism hails with joy the discoveries of modern 
science, as they invariably corroborate what occult science 
has long taught. The experiments of Dr. McDougall 
showed conclusively that something invisible to ordinary 
sight left the body at death, as trained clairvoyants had 
seen, and as had been stated in lectures and literature for 
many years previous to Dr. McDougall's discovery. 

But this invisible "something" is not the soul. There 
is a great difference. The reporters jump at conclusions 
when they state that the scientists have "weighed the 
soul." The soul belongs to higher realms and can never 
be weighed on physical scales, even though they registered 
variations of one-millionth part of a grain instead of one- 
tenth of an ounce. 



100 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

It wus the vital body which the scientists weighed. It 
is formed of the four ethers and they belong to the Phys- 
ical World. 

As we have seen, a certain amount of this ether is 
"superimposed" upon the ether which envelops the parti- 
cles of the human body and is confined there during phys- 
ical life, adding in a slight degree to the weight of the 
dense body of plant, animal and man. In death it escapes ; 
hence the diminution' in weight noticed by Dr. KcDougall 
when the persons with whom he experimented expired. 

Dr. McDougall also tried his scales in weighing dying 
'animals. No diminution was found here, though one of 
the animals was a large St. Bernard dog. That was taken 
to indicate that animals have no souls. A little later, 
however. Professor La V. Twining, head of the Science 
Department of the Los Angeles Polytechnic School, ex- 
perimented with mice and kittens, which he enclosed in 
hermetically sealed glass flasks. His scales were the most 
sensitive procurable and were enclosed in a glass case 
from which all moisture had been removed. It was found 
that all the animals observed lost weight at death. A 
good-sized mouse, weighing 12.886 grams, suddenly lost 
3.1 milligrams at death. 

A kitten used in another experiment lost one hundred 
milligrams while dying and at its last gasp it suddenly 
lost an additional sixty milligrams. After that it lost 
weight slowly, due to evaporation. 

Thus the teaching of occult science in regard to the 
possession of vital bodies by animals was also vindicated 
when sufficiently fine scales were used, and the case where 
the rather insensitive scales did not show diminution in 
the weight of the St. Bernard dog shows that the vital 
bodies of animals are proportionately lighter than in man. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIO?^ 101 

When the '^silver cord" has broken in the heart, and 
man has been released from liis dense body, a moment 
of the highest importance comes to the Ego, and it can- 
not be too seriously impressed upon the relatives of a dy- 
ing person that it is a great crime against the departing 
soul to give expression to loud grief and lamentations, for 
it is just then engaged in a matter of supreme importance 
and a great deal of the value of the past life depends upon 
how much attention the soul can give to this matter. 
This will be made clearer when we come to the descrip- 
tion of man's life in the Desire World. 

It is also a crime against the dying to administer stim- 
ulants which have the effect of forcing the higher vehicles 
back into the dense body with a jerk, thus imparting a 
great shock to the man. It is no torture to pass out, but it 
is torture to be dragged back to endure further suffering. 
Some who have passed out have told investigators that 
they had, in that way, been kept dying for hours and had 
prayed that their relatives would cease their mistaken 
kindness and let them die. 

When the man is freed from the dense body, which was 
the heaviest clog upon his spiritual power (like the heavy 
mitten on the hand of the musician in our previous illus- 
tration), his spiritual power comes back in some measure, 
and he is able to read the pictures in the negative pole of 
the reflecting ether of his vital body, which is the seat 
of the sub-conscious memory. 

The whole of his past life passes before his sight like 
a panorama, the events being presented in reverse order. 
The incidents of the days immediately preceding death 
come first and so on back through manhood or woman- 
hood to youth, childhood and infancy. Everything is re- 
membered. 



102 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The man stands as a spectator before this panorama of 
his past life. He sees the pictures as they pass and they 
impress themselves upon his higher vehicles, but he has 
no feeling about them at this time. That is reserved until 
the time when he enters into the Desire World, which is 
the world of feeling and emotion. At present he is only 
in the Etheric Eegion of the Physical World. 

This panorama lasts from a few hours to several days, 
depending upon the length of time the man could keep 
awake, if necessary. Some people can keep awake only 
twelve hours, or even less ; others can do so, upon occasion, 
for a number of days, but as long as the man can remain 
awake, this panorama lasts. 

This feature of life after death is similar to that which 
takes place when one is drowning or falling fram a height. 
In such cases the vital body also leaves the dense body and 
the man sees his life in a flash, because he loses conscious- 
ness at once. Of course the "silver cord" is not broken, 
or there could be no resuscitation. 

When the endurance of the vital body has reached its 
limit, it collapses in the way described when we were con- 
sidering the phenomenon of sleep. During physical life, 
when the Ego controls its vehicles, this collapse terminates 
the waking hours; after death the collapse of the vital 
body terminates the panorama and forces the man to with- 
draw into the Desire World. The silver cord breaks at the 
point where the "sixes" unite (see diagram 5J), and the 
same division is made as during sleep, but with this im- 
portant difference, that though the vital body returns to the 
dense body, it no longer interpenetrates it, but simply 
hovers over it. It remains floating over the grave, decaying 
synchronously with the dense vehicle. Hence, to the trained 
clairvoyant, a graveyard is a nauseating sight and if only 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 103 

more people could see it as he does, little argument would 
be necessary to induce them to change from the present 
unsanitary method of disposing of the dead to the more 
rational method of cremation, which restores the elements 
to their primordial condition without the objectionable 
features incident to the process of slow decay. 

In leaving the vital body the process is much the same 
as when the dense body is discarded. The life forces of one 
atom are taken, to be used as a nucleus for the vital body 
of a future incarnation. Thus, upon his entrance into 
the Desire World the man has the seed-atoms of the dense 
and the vital bodies, in addition to the desire body and 
the mind. 

If the dying man could leave all desires behind, the de- 
sire body would very quickly fall away from him, leaving 
him free to proceed into the heaven world, but that is not 
generally the case. Most people, especially if they die in 
the prime of life, have many ties and much interest in 
life on earth. They have not altered their desires because 
they have lost their physical bodies. In fact often their 
desires are even augmented by a very intense longing to 
return. This acts in such a manner as to bind them to 
the Desire World in a very unpleasant way, although un- 
fortunately, they do not realize it. On the other hand, old 
and decrepit persons and those who are weakened by long 
illness and are tired of life, pass on very quickly. 

The matter may be illustrated by the ease with which 
the seed falls out of the ripe fruit, no particle of the flesh 
clinging to it, while in the unripe fruit the seed clings 
to the flesh with the greatest tenacity. Thus it is espe- 
cially hard for people to die who were taken out of their 
bodies by accident while at the height of their physical 
health and strength, engaged in numerous ways in the 



104 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

activities of physical life ; held by the ties of wife, family, 
relatives, friends, pursuits of business and pleasure. 

The suicide, who tries to get away from life, only to 
find that he is as much alive as ever, is in the most piti- 
able plight. He is able to watch those whom he has, per- 
haps, disgraced by his act, and worst of all, he has an un- 
speakable feeling of being "hollowed out." The part in 
the ovoid aura where the dense body used to be is empty 
and although the desire body has taken the form of the 
discarded dense body, it feels like an empty shell, because 
the creative archetype of the body in the Eegion of Con- 
terete Thought persists as an empty mold, so to speak, as 
long as the dense body should properly have lived. When 
a person meets a natural death, even in the prime of life, 
the activity of the archetype ceases, and the desire body 
adjusts itself so as to occupy the whole of the form, but 
in the case of the suicide that awful feeling of "empti- 
ness" remains until the time comes when, in the natural 
course of events, his death would have occurred. 

As long as the man entertains the desires connected 
with earth life he must stay in his desire body and as the 
progress of the individual requires that he pass on to 
higher Eegions, the existence in the Desire World must 
necessarily become purgative, tending to purify him from 
his binding desires. How this is done is best seen by tak- 
ing some radical instances. 

The miser who loved his gold in earth life loves it just 
as dearly after death; but in the first place he cannot 
acquire any more, because he has no longer a dense body 
wherewith to grasp it and worst of all, he cannot even keep 
what he hoarded during life. He will, perhaps, go and sit 
by his safe and watch the cherished gold or bonds; but 
the heirs appear and with, it may "be, a stinging jeer at the 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIOJ^ 105 

"stingy old fool" (whom they do not see, but who both 
sees and hears them), will open his safe, and tho'igh he 
may throw himself over his gold to protect it, they will 
put their hands through him, neither knowing nor caring 
that he is there, and will then proceed to spend his hoard, 
while he suffers in sorrow and impotent rage. 

He will suffer keenly, his sufferings all the more ter- 
rible on account of being entirely mental, because the 
dense body dulls even suffering to some extent. In the 
Desire World, however, these sufferings have full sway and 
the man suffers until he learns that gold may be a curse. 
Thus he gradually becomes contented with his lot and at 
last is freed from his desire body and is ready to go on. 

Or take the case of the drunkard. He is just as fond 
of intoxicants after death as he was before. It is not the 
dense body that craves drink. It is made sick by alcohol 
and would rather be without it. It vainly protests in 
different ways, but the desire body of the drunkard craves 
the drink and forces the dense body to take it, that the 
desire body may have the sensation of pleasure resulting 
from the increased vibration. That desire remains after 
the death of the dense bodv, but the drunkard has in his 
desire body neither mouth to drink nor stomach to contain 
physical liquor. He may and does get into saloons, where 
he interpolates his body into the bodies of the drinkers 
to get a little of their vibrations by induction, but that 
is too weak to give him much satisfaction. He may and 
also does sometimes get inside a whiskey cask, but that 
also is of no avail either for there are in the cask no such 
fumes as are generated in the digestive organs of a tip- 
pler. It has no effect upon him and he is like a man in 
an open boat on the ocean, "Water, water everywhere, 
but not a drop to drink ;" consequently he suffers intensely. 



106 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

In time, however, he learns the uselessness of longing for 
drink which. he cannot ohtain. As with so many of our 
desires in the Earth life, all desires in the Desire World 
die for want of opportunity to gratify them. When the 
drunkard has been purged, he is ready, so far as this habit 
is concerned, to leave this state of "purgatory'^ and ascend 
into the heaven world. 

Thus we see that it is not an avenging Deity that makes 
purgatory or hell for us, but our own individual evil habits 
and acts. According to the intensity of our desires will 
be the time and suffering entailed in their expurgation. 
In the cases mentioned it would have been no suffering 
to the drunkard to lose his worldly possessions. If he had 
any, he did not cling to them. Neither would it have 
caused the miser any pain to have been deprived of in- 
toxicants. It is safe to say that he would not have cared 
if there were not a drop of liquor in the world. But he 
did care about his gold, and the drunkard eared about 
his drink and so the unerring law gave to each that which 
was needed to purge him of his unhallowed desires and 
evil habits. 

This is the law that is symbolized in the scythe of the 
reaper, Death; the law that says, "whatsoever a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap." It is the law of cause'^ 
and effect, which rules all things in the three Worlds, in 
every realm of nature — physical, moral and mental. 
Everywhere it works inexorably, adjusting all things, re- 
storing the equilibrium wherever even the slightest action 
has brought about a disturbance, as all action must. The 
result may be manifest immediately or it may be delayed 
for years or for lives, but sometime, somewhere, just and 
equal retribution will be made. The student should par- 
ticularly note that its work is absolutely impersonal. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 107 

There is in the universe neither reward nor punishment. 
All is the result of invariable law. The action of this 
law will be more fully elucidated in the next chapter, 
where we shall find it associated with another Great Law 
of the Cosmos, which also operates in the evolution of man. 
The law we are now considering is called the law of 
Consequence. 

In the Desire World it operates in purging man of the 
baser desires and the correction of the weaknesses and vices 
which hinder his progress, by making him suffer in the 
manner best adapted to that purpose. If he has made 
others suffer, or has dealt unjustly with them, he will be 
made to suffer in that identical way. Be it noted, however, 
that if a person has been subject to vices, or has done 
wrong to others, but has overcome his vices, or repented 
and, as far as posible, made right the wrong done, such 
repentance, reform and restitution has purged him of 
those special vices and evil acts. The equilibrium has 
been restored and the lesson learned during that incarna- 
tion, and therefore will not be a cause of suffering after 
death. 

In the Desire World life is lived about three times as 
rapidly as in the Physical World. A man who has lived 
to be fifty years of age in the Physical World would live 
through the same life events in the Desire World in about 
sixteen years. This is, of course, only a general gauge. 
There are persons who remain in the Desire World much 
longer than their term of physical life. Others again, 
who have led lives with few gross desires, pass through 
in a much shorter period, but the measure above given is 
very nearly correct for the average man of the present 
day. 

It will be remembered that as the man leaves the dense 



108 ROSICftUCIAN COSMO-CONCEt>TION 

body at death, his past life passes before him in pictures; 
but at that time he has no feeling concerning them. 

During his life in the Desire World also these life pic- 
tures roll backwards, as before; but now the man has all 
the feelings that it is possible for him to have as, one by 
one, the scenes pass before him. Every incident in his 
past life is now lived over again. When he comes to a 
point where he has injured someone, he himself feels the 
pain as the injured person felt it. He lives through all 
the sorrow and suffering he has caused to others and 
learns just how painful is the hurt and how hard to bear 
IS the sorrow he has caused. In addition there is the fact 
already mentioned that the suffering is much keener be- 
cause he has no dense body to dull the pain. Perhaps that 
is why the speed of life there is tripled — that the suffer- 
ing may lose in duration what it gains in sharpness. N"at- 
ture's measures are wonderfully just and true. 

There is another characteristic peculiar to this phase 
of post mortem existence which is intimately connected 
with the fact (already mentioned) that distance is almost 
annihilated in the Desire World. When a man dies, he 
at once seems to swell out in his vital body; he appears 
to himself to grow into immense proportions. This feel- 
ing is due to the fact, not that the body really grows, but 
that the perceptive faculties receive so many impressions 
from various sources, all seeming to be close at hand. 
,The same is true of the desire body. The man seems to 
be present with all the people with whom on earth he 
had relations of a nature which require correction. If 
he has injured one man in San Francisco and another in 
New York, he will feel as if part of him were in each 
place. This gives him a peculiar feeling of being cut to 
pieces. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 109 

The student will now understand the importance of the 
panorama of the past life during the purgative existence, 
where this panorama is realized in definite feelings. If 
it lasted long and the man were undisturbed, the full, 
deep, clear impression etched into the desire body would 
make life in the Desire World more vivid and conscious 
and the purgation more thorough than if, because of dis- 
tress at the loud outbursts of grief on the part of his rela- 
tives, at the death bed and during the three-day period 
previously mentioned the man had only a vague impres- 
sion of his past life. The spirit which has etched a deep 
clear record into its desire body Avill realize the mistakes 
of the past life so much more clearly and definitely than 
if the pictures were blurred on account of the individual's 
attention being diverted by the suffering and grief around 
him. His feeling concerning the things which cause his 
present suffering in the Desire World will be much more 
definite if they are drawn from a distinct panoramic im- 
pression than if the duration of the process were short. 

This sharp, clear-cut feeling is of immense value in 
future lives. It stamps upon the seed-atom of the desire 
body an ineffaceable impression of itself. The experiences 
will he forgotten in succeeding lives, hut the Feeling re- 
mains. When opportunities occur to repeat the error in 
later lives, this Feeling will speak to us clearly and un- 
mistakably. It is the '^still^ small voice" which warns 
us, though we do not know why ; but the clearer an^ more 
definite the panoramas of past lives have been, the oftener, 
stronger and clearer shall we hear this voice. Thus we 
see how important it is that we leave the passing spirit in 
absolute quietness after death. By so. doing we help it 
to reap the greatest possible benefit from the life Just 
ended and to avoid perpetuating the same mistakes in 



110 KOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

future lives^ while our selfish, hysterical lamentations may 
deprive it of much of the value of the life it has just con- 
cluded. 

The mission of purgatory is to eradicate the injurious 
habits by making their gratification impossible. The in- 
dividual suffers exactly as he has made others suffer 
through his dishonesty, cruelty, intolerance, or what not. 
Because of this suffering he learns to act kindly, honestly, 
and with forbearance toward others in future. Thus, in 
consequence of the existence of this beneficent state, man 
learns virtue and right action. When he is reborn he is 
*free from evil habits, at least every evil act committed is 
one of free will. The tendencies to repeat the evil of past 
lives remain, for we must learn to do right consciously 
and of our own will. Upon occasion these tendencies 
tempt us, thereby affording us an opportunity of ranging 
ourselves on the side of mercy and virtue as against vice 
and cruelty. But to indicate right action and to help us 
resist the snares and wiles of temptation, we have the feel- 
ing resulting from the expurgation of evil habits and the 
expiation of the wrong acts of past lives. If we heed that 
feeling and abstain from the particular evil involved, the 
temptation will cease. We have freed ourselves from it 
for all time. If we yield we shall experience keener suffer- 
ing than before until at last we have learned to live by 
the Golden Rule, because the way of the transgressor is 
hard. Even then we have not reached the ultimate. To 
do good to others because we want them to do good to us 
is essentially selfish. In time we must learn to do good 
regardless of how we are treated by others ; as Christ said, 
we must love even our enemies. 

There is an inestimable benefit in knowing about the 
method and object of this purgation, because we are thus 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION m 

enabled to forestall it by living our purgatory here and 
now day by da}^, thus advancing much faster than would 
otherwise be possible. An exercise is given in the latter 
part of this work, the object of which is purification as 
an aid to the development of spiritual sight. It consists 
of thinking over the happenings of the day after retiring 
at night. We review each incident of the day, in reverse 
order, taking particular note of the moral aspect, consid- 
ering whether we acted rightly or wrongly in each par- 
ticular case regarding actions, mental attitude and habits. 
By thus judging ourselves day by day, endeavoring to cor- 
rect mistakes and wrong actions, we shall materially 
shorten or perhaps even eliminate the necessity for pur- 
gatory and be able to pass to the first heaven directly after 
death. I.'' in this manner, we consciously overcome our 
weaknesses, we also make a very material advance in the 
school of evolution. Even if we fail to correct our actions, 
we derive an immense benefit from judging ourselves, 
thereby generating aspirations toward good, which in time 
will surely bear fruit in right action. 

In reviewing the day's happenings and blaming our- 
selves for wrong, we should not forget to impersonally 
approve of the good we have done and determine to do 
still better. In this way we enhance the good by approval 
as much as we abjure the evil by blame. 

Repentance and reform are also powerful factors in 
shortening the purgatorial existence, for nature never 
wastes effort in useless processes. When we realize the 
wrong of certain habits or acts in our past life, and 
determine to eradicate the habit and to redress the wrong 
committed, we are expunging the pictures of them from 
the sub-conscious memory and they will not be there to 
judge us after death. Even though we are not able to 



112 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

make restitution for a wrong, the sincerity of our regret 
will suffice. Nature does not aim to "get even/' or to 
take revenge. Eecompense may be given to our victim in 
other ways. 

Much progress ordinarily reserved for future lives will 
be made by the man who thus takes time by the forelock, 
judging himself and eradicating vice by reforming his 
character. This practice is earnestly recommended. It 
is perhaps the most ^ important teaching in the present 
work. 

The Borderland. 

• Purgatory occupies the three lower Eegions of the De- 
sire World. The first heaven is in the three upper Ee- 
gions. The central Eegion is a sort of borderland — 
neither heaven nor hell. In this Eegion we find people 
who are honest and upright; who wronged no one, but 
were deeply immersed in business and thought nothing of 
the higher life. For them the Desire World is a state of 
the most indescribable monotony. There is no "business" 
in that world nor is there, for a man of that kind, any- 
thing that will take its place. He has a very hard time 
until he learns to think of higher things than ledgers and 
drafts. The men who thought of the problem of life and 
came to the conclusion that "death ends it all f who de- 
nied the existence of things outside the material-sense 
world — these men also feel this dreadful monotony. They 
had expected annihilation of consciousness, but instead of 
that they find themselves with an augmented perception 
of persons and things about them. They had been ac- 
customed to denying these things so vehemently that they 
often fancy the Desire World an hallucination, and may 
frequently be heard exclaiming in the deepest despair, 
"When will it end? When will it end?'' 



ItlAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIOI^ 113 

Such people are really in a pitiable state. They are 
generally beyond the reach of any help whatever and suf- 
fer much longer than almost anyone else. Besides, they 
have scarcely any life in the Heaven World, where the 
building of bodies for future use is taught, so they put 
all their crystallizing thoughts into whatsoever body they 
build for a future life, and thus a body is built that has 
the hardening tendencies we see, for instance, in consump- 
tion. Sometimes the suffering incident to such decrepit 
bodies will turn the thoughts of the entities ensouling 
them to God^ and their evolution can proceed; but in the 
materialistic mind lies the greatest danger of losing touch 
with the spirit and becoming an outcast. Therefore the 
Elder Brothers have been very seriously concerned for 
the last century regarding the fate of the Western World 
and were it not for their special beneficent action in 
its behalf, we should have had a social cataclysm com- 
pared with which the French Eevolution were child's 
play. The trained clairvoyant can see how narrowly 
humanity has escaped disasters of a nature so devastat- 
ing that continents would have been swept into the sea. 
The reader will find a more extended and thorough exposi- 
tion of the connection of materialism with volcanic out- 
bursts in Chapter XVIII, where the list of the eruptions of 
Vesuvius would seem to corroborate the statement of such 
a connection, unless it is credited to ^'^coincidence," as the 
sceptic generally does when confronted with facts and 
figures he cannot explain. 

The First Heaven". 

When the purgatorial existence is over the purified 
spirit rises into the first heaven, which is located in the 
three highest Eegions of the Desire World, where the re- 



114 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

suits of its sufferings are incorporated in the seed-atom of 
the desire body, thus imparting to it the quality of right 
feeling, which acts as an impulse to good and a deterrent 
from evil in the future. Here the panorama of the past 
again unrolls itself backward, but this time it is the good 
acts of life that are the basis of feeling. When we come 
to scenes where we helped others we realize anew all the 
joy of helping which was ours at the time, and in addition 
we feel all the gratitude poured out to us by the recipient 
of our help. When we come to scenes where we were 
helped by others, we again feel all the gratitude that we 
then felt toward our benefactor. Thus we see the impor- 
tance of appreciating the favors shown us by others, be- 
cause gratitude makes for soul-growth. Our happiness in 
heaven depends upon the joy we gave others, and the 
valuation we placed upon what others did for us. 

It should be ever borne in mind that the power of giv- 
ing is not vested chiefly in the monied man. Indiscrimi- 
nate giving of money may even be an evil. It is well to 
give money for a purpose we are convinced is good, but 
service is a thousandfold better. As Whitman says, 

Behold! I do not give lectures, or a little charity; 
"When I give, I give myself. 

A kind look, expressions of confidence, a sympathetic and 
loving helpfulness — these can be given by all regard- 
less of wealth. Moreover^ we should particularly endeavor 
to help the needy one to help himself, whether physically, 
financially, morally, or mentally, and not cause him to be- 
conie dependent upon us or others. 

The ethics of giving, with the effect on the giver as a 
spiritual lesson, are most beautifully shown in Lowell's 
"The Vision of Sir Launfal.'^ The young and ambitious 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 115 

knight, Sir Launfal, clad in shining armor and astride a 
splendid charger, is setting out from his castle to seek 
The Holy Grail. On his shield gleams the cross, the sym- 
bol of the benignity and tenderness of Our Savior, the 
meek and lowly One, but the knight's heart is filled with 
pride and haughty disdain for the poor and needy. He 
meets a leper asking alms and with a contemptuous frown 
throws him a coin, as one might cast a bone to a hungry 
cur, but 

The leper raised not the gold from the dust, 

"Better to me the poor man's crust, 

Better the blessing of the poor, 

Though I turn empty from his door. 

That is no true alms which the hand can holdj 

He gives only the worthless gold 

Who gives from a sense of duty; 

But he who gives from a slender mite, 

And gives to that which is out of sight — 

That thread of all-sustaining Beauty 

Which runs through all and doth all unite, — 

The hand cannot clasp the whole of his alms, 

The heart outstretches its eager palms. 

For a god goes with it and makes it store 

To the soul that was starving in darkness before. 

On his return Sir Launfal finds another in possession 
of his castle, and is driven from the gate. 

An old bent man, worn out and frail. 

He came back from seeking the Holy Grail; 

Little he recked of his earldom's loss, 

No more on his surcoat was blazoned the cross, 

But deep in his heart the sign he wore, 

The badge of the suffering and the poor. 

Again he meets the leper, who again asks alms. This 
time the knight responds differently. 

And Sir Launfal said: ''I behold in thee 

An image of Him Who died on the tree; 

Thou also hast had thy crown of thorns, 

Thou also hast had the world's buffets and scorns, 



116 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

And to thy life were not denied 
The wounds in the hands and feet and side ; 
Mild Mary's Son, acknowledge me; 
Behold, through him I give to Thee ! " 

A look in the leper's eye brings remembrance and recog- 
nition, and 

The heart within him was ashes and dust; 
He parted in twain his single crust, 
He broke the ice on the streamlet's brink, 
And gave the leper to eat and drink. 

A transformation takes place: 

The leper no longer crouched by his side, 
But stood before feim glorified. 

And the Voice that was softer than silence said, 
**Lo, it is I, be not afraid! 
' In many lands, without avail. 

Thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail; 

Behold, it is here! — This cup which thou 

Did'st fill at the streamlet for me but now; 

This crust is my body broken for thee. 

This water the blood I shed on the tree ; 

The Holy Supper is kept, indeed, 

In whatso we share with another 's need ; 

Not what we give, but what we share — 

For the gift without the giver is bare ; 

Who gives himself with his alms feeds three — 

Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me." 

The first heaven is a place of joy without a single drop 
of bitterness. The spirit is beyond the influence of the 
material, earthly conditions, and assimilates all the good 
contained in the past life as it lives it over again. Here 
all ennobling pursuits to which the man aspired are realized 
in fullest measure. It is a place of rest, and the harder 
has been the life, the more keenly will the rest be enjoyed. 
Sickness, sorrow, and pain are unknown quantities. This 
is the Summerland of the Spirtualists. There the thoughts 
of the devout Christian have built the New Jerusalem. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 117 

Beautiful houses, flowers, etc., are the portion of those 
who aspired to them ; they build them themselves by 
thought from the subtle desire stuff. Nevertheless these 
things are just as real and tangible to them as our material 
houses are to us. All gain here the satisfaction which 
earth life lacked for them. 

There is one class there who lead a particularly beauti- 
ful life — the children. If we could but see them we would 
quickly cease our grief. When a child dies before the birth 
of the desire body, which takes place about the fourteenth 
year, it does not go any higher than the first heaven, be- 
cause it is not responsible for its actions, any more than 
the unborn child is responsible for the pain it causes the 
mother by turning and twisting in her womb. Therefore 
the child has no purgatorial existence. That which is not 
quickened cannot die, hence the desire body of a child, 
together with the mind, will persist until a new birth, and 
for that reason such children are very apt to remember 
their previous incarnation, as instanced in the case cited 
elsewhere. 

For such children the first heaven is a waiting-place 
where they dwell from one to twenty years, until an oppor- 
tunity for a new incarnation is offered. Yet it is more 
than simply a waiting-place, because there is much prog- 
ress made during this interim. 

When a child dies there is always some relative await- 
ing it, or, failing that, there are people who loved to 
'^mother" children in earth life who find delight in taking 
care of a little waif. The extreme plasticity of the desire 
stuff makes it easy to form the most exquisite living toys 
for the children, and their life is one beautiful play; 
nevertheless their instruction is not neglected. They are 
formed into classes according to their temperaments, but 



llg EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

quite regardless of age. In the Desire World it is easy 
to give object-lessons in the influence of good and evil 
passions on conduct and happiness. These lessons are 
indelibly imprinted upon the child's sensitive and emo- 
tional desire body, and remain with it after rebirth, so 
that many a one living a noble life owes much of it to the 
fact that he was given this training. Often when a weak 
spirit is born, the Compassionate Ones (the invisible Lead- 
ers who guide our evolution) cause it to die in early life 
that it may have this extra training to fit it for what may 
be perhaps a hard life. This seems to be the case particu- 
larly where the etching on the desire body was weak in 
consequence of a dying person having been disturbed by 
the lamentations of his relatives, or because he met death 
by accident or on the battle-field. He did not under those 
* circumstances experience the apjoropriate intensity of feel- 
ing in his post mortem existence, therefore, when he is 
born and dies in early life, the loss is made up as above. 
Often the duty of caring for such a child in the heaven life 
falls to those who were the cause of the anomaly. They 
are thus afforded a chance to make up for the fault and to 
learn better. Or perhaps they become the parents of the 
one they harmed and care for it during the few years it 
lives. It does not matter then if they do lament hysteric- 
ally over its death, because there would be no pictures of 
any consequence in a child's vital body. 

This heaven is also a place of progression for all who 
have been studious, artistic, or altruistic. The student 
and the philosopher have instant access to all the libraries 
of the world. The painter has endless delight in the ever- 
changing color combinations. He soon learns that his 
thought blends and shapes these colors at will. His crea- 
tions glow and scintillate with a life impossible of attain- 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 119 

ment to one who works with the dull pigments of Earth. 
He is, as it were, painting with living, glowing materials 
and able to execute his designs with a facility which fills 
his soul with delight. The musician has not yet reached 
the place where his art will express itself to the fullest 
extent. The Physical World is the world of Form. The 
Desire World, where we find purgatory and the first 
heaven, is particularly the world of Color; but the World 
of Thought, where the second and third heavens are located, 
is the sphere of Tone. Celestial music is a fact and not a 
mere figure of speech. Pythagoras was not romancing 
when he spoke of the music of the spheres, for each one of 
the heavenly orbs has its definite tone and together they 
sound the celestial symphony which Goethe also mentions 
in the prolog to his "Faust,^' where the scene is laid in 
heaven. The Archangel Eaphael says, 

The Sun intones his ancient song 

'Mid rival chant of brother spheres. 
His prescribed course he speeds along 

In thunderous way throughout the years. 

Echoes of that heavenly music reach us even here in 
the Physical World. They are our most precious posses- 
sion, even though they are as elusive as a will-o'-the-wisp, 
and cannot be permanently created, as can other works 
of art — a statue, a painting, or a book. In the Physical 
World tone dies and vanishes the moment after it is born. 
In the first heaven these echoes are, of course, much more 
beautiful and have more permanency, hence there the musi- 
cian hears sweeter strains than ever he did during earth 
life. 

The experiences of the poet are akin to those of the 
musician, for poetry is the soul's expression of its inner- 
most feelings in words which are ordered according to the 



120 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

same laws of harmony and rhythm that govern the out- 
pouring of the spirit in music. In addition, the poet 
finds a wonderful inspiration in the pictures and colors 
which are the chief characteristics of the Desire World. 
Thence he will draw the material for use in his next in- 
carnation. In like manner does the author accumulate 
material and faculty. The philanthropist works out his 
altruistic plans for the upliftment of man. If he failed in 
one life^ he will see the reason for it in the first heaven 
and will there learn how to overcome the obstacles and 
avoid the errors that made his plan impracticable. 

In time a point is reached wliere the result of the pain 
and suffering incident to purgation, together with the joy 
extracted from the good actions of the past life, have been 
built into the seed-atom of the desire body. Together 
these constitute what we call conscience, that impelling 
force which warns us against evil as productive of pain 
and inclines us toward good as productive of liappiness and 
joy. Then man leaves liis desire body to disintegrate, as 
he left his dense body and vital body. He takes with him 
the forces only of the seed-atom, which are to form the 
nucleus of future desire bodies, as it was the persistent 
particle of his past vehicles of feeling. 

As stated above, the forces of the seed-atom are with- 
drawn. To the materialist force and matter are insepara- 
ble. The occultist knows differently. To him they are 
not two entirely distinct and separate concepts, but the 
two poles of the one spirit. 

Matter is crystallized spirit. 

Force is the same spirit not yet ciTstallized. 

This has been said before, but it cannot be too strongly 
impressed upon the mind. In this connection the illustra- 
tion of the snail is very helpful. Matter, which is crys- 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIOIS 121 

tallized spirit, corresponds to the snail's house, which is 
crystallized snail. The chemical force which moves mat- 
ter, making it available for the building of form, and 
the snail which moves its house are also good correspond- 
ences. That which is now the snail will in time become 
the house, and that which is now force will in time become 
matter when it has crystallized further. The reverse process 
of resolving matter back into spirit is also going on con- 
tinually. The coarser pt ase of this process we see as decay 
when a man is leaving his vehicles behind and at that time 
the spirit of an atom is easily detachable from the coarser 
spirit which has been manifesting as matter. 

The Second Heaven. 

At last the man, the Ego, the threefold spirit, enters the 
second heaven. He is clad in the sheath of mind, which 
contains the three seed-atoms — the quintessence of the 
three discarded vehicles. 

When the man dies and loses his dense and vital bodies 
there is the same condition as when one falls asleep. The 
desire body^ as has been explained, had no organs ready 
for use. It is now transformed from an ovoid to a figure 
resembling the dense body which has been abandoned. 
We can easily understand that there must be an interval 
of unconsciousness resembling sleep and then the man 
awakes in the Desire World. It not unfrequently happens, 
however, that such people are, for a long time, unaware 
of what has happened to them. They do not realize that 
they have died. They know that they are able to move 
and think. It is sometimes even a very hard matter to 
get them to believe that they are really "dead." They 
realize that something is different, but they are not able 
to understand what it is. 



122 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Not SO, however, when the change is made from the first 
heaven, which is in the Desire World, to the second heaven, 
which is in the Eegion of Concrete Thought. Then the 
man leaves his desire body. He is perfectly conscious. He 
passes into a great stillness. For the time being every- 
thing seems to fade away. He cannot think. No faculty is 
alive, yet he knows that he is. He has a feeling of stand- 
ing in "The Great Forever ;" of standing utterly alone, yet 
unafraid; and his soul is filled with a wonderful peace, 
"which passeth all understanding." 

In occult science this is called ''The Great Silence/' 

Then comes the awakening. The spirit is now in its 
home-World — ^heaven. Here the first awakening brings to 
the spirit the sound of "the music of the spheres." In 
•our Earth life we are so immersed in the little noises and 
sounds of our limited environment that we are incapable 
of hearing the music of the marching orbs, but the occult 
scientist hears it. He knows that the twelve signs of the 
Zodiac and the seven planets form the sounding-board and 
strings of "Apollo's seven-stringed lyre." He knows that 
were a single discord to mar the celestial harmony from 
that grand Instrument there would be "a wreck of matter 
and a crash of worlds." 

The power of rhythmic vibration is well-known to all 
who have given the subject even the least study. For 
instance, soldiers are commanded to break step when cross- 
ing a bridge, otherwise their rhythmic tramp would shatter 
the strongest structure. The Bible story of the sounding 
of the ram's horn while marching around the walls of the 
city of Jericho is not nonsensical in the eyes of the occult- 
ist. In some cases similar things have happened without 
the world smiling in supercilious incredulity. A few years 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIO^^ 123 

ago, a band of musicians were practicing in a garden 
close to the very solid wall of an old castle. There oc- 
curred at a certain place in the music a prolonged and very 
piercing tone. When this note was sounded the wall of 
the castle suddenly fell. The musicians had struck the key- 
note of the wall and it was sufficiently prolonged to 
shatter it. 

When it is said that this is the world of tone, it must 
not be thought that there are no colors. Many people 
know that there is an intimate connection between color 
and tone ; that when a certain note is struck, a certain color 
appears simultaneously. So it is also in the Heaven World. 
Color and sound are both present; hut the tone is the 
originator of the color. Hence it is said, that this is par- 
ticularly the world of tone, and it is this tone that builds 
all forms in the Physical World. The musician can hear 
certain tones in different parts of nature, such as the wind 
in the forest, the breaking of the surf on the beach, the 
roar of the ocean and the sounding of many waters. These 
combined tones make a whole which is the key-note of the 
Earth — its "tone.^' As geometrical figures are created by 
drawing a violin bow over the edge of a glass plate, so the 
forms we see around us are the crystallized sound-figures 
of the archetypal forces which play into the archetypes in 
the Heaven World. 

The work done by man in the Heaven World is many- 
sided. It is not in the least an inactive, dreamy nor illus- 
trative existence. It is a time of the greatest and most 
important activity in preparing for the next life, as sleep is 
an active preparation for the work of the following day. 

Here the quintessence of the three bodies is built into 
the threefold spirit. As much of the desire body as the 
man had worked upon during life, by purifying his desires 



134 ROSICBUClAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

and emotions, will be welded into the human spirit, thus 
giving an improved mind in the future. 

As much of the vital body as the life spirit had worked 
upon, transformed, spiritualized, and thus saved from the 
decay to which the rest of the vital body is subject, will 
be amalgamated with the life spirit to insure a better vital 
body and temperament in the succeeding lives. 

As much of the dense body as the divine spirit has 
saved by right action will be worked into it and will bring 
better environment and opportunities. 

This spiritualization of the vehicle is accomplished by 
cultivation of the faculties of observation, discrimination 
and memory, devotion to high ideals, prayer, concentra- 
tion, persistence and right use of the life forces. 

The second heaven is the real home of man — ^the Ego, 
the Thinker. Here he dwells for centuries, assimilating the 
fruit of the last earth life and preparing the earthly con- 
ditions which will be best suited for his next step in prog- 
ress. The sound or tone which pervades this Kegion, and is 
everywhere apparent as color, is his instrument, so to speak. 
It is this harmonious sound vibration which, as an elixir 
of life, builds into the threefold spirit the quintessence of 
the threefold body, upon which it depends for growth. 

The life in the second heaven is an exceedingly active 
one, varied in many different ways. The Ego assimilates 
the fruits of the last earth life and prepares the environ- 
ment for a new physical existence. It is not enough to 
say that the new conditions will be determined by con- 
duct and action in the life just closed. It is required that 
the fruits of the past be worked into the World which is 
to be the next scene of activity while the Ego is gaining 
fresh physical experiences and gathering further fruit. 
Therefore all the denizens of the Heaven World work upon 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 125 

the models of the Earth, all of which are in the Region 
of Concrete Thought. They alter the physical features of 
the Earth, and bring about the gradual changes which vary 
its appearance, so that on each return to physical life a 
different environment has been prepared, wherein new 
experiences may be gained. Climate, floray and fauna are 
altered by man under the direction of higher Beings, to 
be described later. Thus the world is just what we our- 
selves, individually and collectively, have made it; and it 
will be what we make it. The occult scientist sees in every- 
thing that happens a cause of a spiritual nature manifest- 
ing itself, not omitting the prevalence and alarmingly in- 
creasing frequency of seismic disturbances, which it traces 
to the materialistic thought of modern science. 

It is true that purely physical causes can bring about 
such disturbances, but is that the last word on the subject ? 
Can we always get the full explanation by merely record- 
ing what appears on the surface? Surely not! We see 
two men conversing on the street and one suddenly strikes 
the other, knocking him down. One observer may say 
that an angry thought knocked the man down. Another 
may scoff at this answer and declare that he saw the arm 
lifted, the muscles contract, the arm shooting out and com- 
ing in contact with the victim, who was knocked down. 
That is also true, but it is safe to say that had there not 
first been the angry thought, the blow would not have been 
struck. In like manner the occultist says that if material- 
ism had not been, seismic disturbances would not have 
occurred. 

Man's work in the Heaven World is not confined solely 
to the alteration of the surface of the Earth which is to 
be the scene of his future struggles in the subjugation of 
the Physical World. He is also actively engaged in learn- 



126 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

ing how to build a body which shall afford a better means of 
expression. It is man's destiny to become a Creative In- 
telligence and he is serving his apprenticeship all the time. 
During his heaven life he is learning to build all kinds of 
^bodies — the human included. 

We have spoken of the forces which work along the 
positive and negative poles of the different ethers. Man 
himself is part of that force. Those whom we call dead 
are the ones who help us to live. They in turn are helped 
by the so-called "nature spirits/' which they command. 
Man is directed in this work by Teachers from the higher 
creative Hierarchies,, which helped him to build his vehicles 
before he attained self-consciousness, in the same way he 
himself now builds his bodies in sleep. During heaven 
life they teach him consciously. The painter is taught to 
build an accurate eye, capable of taking in a perfect per- 
'gpective and of distinguishing colors and shades to a 
degree inconceivable among those not interested in color 
and lightJ^^-'i' 

The m^theniatician has to deal with space, and the 
faculty for space perception is connected with the delicate 
adjustment of the three semi-circular canals which are 
sftuated inside the ear, each pointing in one of the three 
^^imensions in space. Logical thought and mathematical 
^ability are in proportion to the accuracy of the adjustment 
'of these semi-circular canals. Musical ability is also de- 
pendent upon the same factor, but in addition to the neces- 
sity for the proper adjustment of the semi-circular canals, 
the musician requires extreme delicacy of the "fibres of 
' iGbrti/' nof which there are about three thousand in the 
• human ear, each capable of interpreting about twenty-five 
gradations of tone. In the ears of the majority of people 
they do not respond to more than from three to ten of 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 127 

the possible gradations. Among ordinary musical people 
the greatest degree of efficiency is about fifteen sounds to 
each fibre; but the master musician, who is able to inter- 
pret and bring down music from the Heaven World, re- 
quires a greater range to be able to distinguish the differ- 
ent notes and detect the slightest discord in the most com- 
plicated chords. Persons who require organs of such ex- 
ceeding delicacy for the expression of their faculties are 
specially taken care of, as the higher state of their devel- 
opment merits and demands. None other ranks so high 
as the musician, which is reasonable when we consider 
that while the painter draws his inspiration chiefly from 
the world of color — the nearer Desire World — the musician 
attempts to bring to us the atmosphere of our heavenly 
home world (where, as spirits, we are citizens), and to 
translate them into the sounds of earth life. His is the 
highest mission, because as a mode of expression for soul 
life, music reigns supreme. That music is different from 
and higher than all the other arts can be understood when 
we reflect that a statue or a painting, when once created, 
is permanent. They are drawn from the Desire World 
and are therefore more easily crystallized, while music, 
being of the Heaven World, is more elusive and must be 
re-created each time we hear it. It cannot be imprisoned, 
as shown by the unsuccessful attempts to do so partially 
by means of such mechanical devices as phonographs and 
piano-players. The music so reproduced loses much of the 
soul-stirring sweetness it possesses when it comes fresh 
from its own world, carrying to the soul memories of its 
home and speaking to it in a language that no beauty 
expressed in marble or upon canvas can equal. 

The instrument through which man senses music is the 
most perfect sense organ in the human body. The eye is 



128 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

not by any means true, but the ear is, in the sense that it 
hears every sound without distortion, while the eye often 
distorts what it sees. 

In addition to the musical ear, the musician must also 
learn to build a long, fine hand with slender fingers and 
sensitive nerves, otherwise he would not be able to repro- 
duce the melodies he hears. 

It is a law of nature that no one can inhabit a more 
efficient body than he is capable of building. He first 
learns to build a certain grade of body and afterwards he 
learns to live in it. In that way he discovers its defects 
and is taught how to remedy them. 

All men work unconsciously at the building of their 
bodies during ante-natal life until they have reached the 
point where the quintessence of former bodies — which they 
•have saved — is to be built in. Then they work consciously. 
It will therefore be seen that the more a man advances and 
the more he works on his vehicles, thus making them im- 
mortal, the more power he has to build for a new life. The 
advanced pupil of an occult school sometimes commences 
to build for himself as soon as the work during the first 
three weeks (which belongs exclusively to the mother) has 
been completed. When the period of unconscious building 
has passed the man has a chance to exercise his nascent 
creative power, and the true original creative process — 
"Epigenesis" — begins. 

Thus we see that man learns to build his vehicles in the 
Heaven World, and to use them in the Physical World. 
Nature provides all phases of experience in such a mar- 
velous manner and with such consummate wisdom that 
as we learn to see deeper and deeper into her secrets we 
are more and more impressed with our own insignificance 
and with an ever-growing reverence for God, whose visi- 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTIOJSl 129 

ble symbol nature is. The more we learn of her wonders, 
the more we realize that this world system is not the vast 
perpetual motion machine unthinking people would have 
us believe. It would be quite as logical to think that if 
we toss a box of loose type into the air the characters will 
have arranged themselves into the words of a beautiful 
poem by the time they reach the ground. The greater the 
complexity of the plan the greater the argumental weight 
in favor of the theory of an intelligent Divine Author. 

The Third Heaven. 

Having assimilated all the fruits of his last life and 
altered the appearance of the Earth in such a manner as to 
afford him the necessary environment for his next step 
towards perfection; having also learned by work on the 
bodies of others, to build a suitable body through which to 
express himself in the Physical World and having at last 
resolved the mind into the essence which builds the three- 
fold spirit, the naked individual spirit ascends into the 
higher Eegion of the World of Thought — the third heaven. 
Here, by the ineffable harmony of this higher world, it is 
strengthened for its next dip into matter. 

After a time comes the desire for new experience and 
the contemplation of a new birth. This conjures up a 
series of pictures before the vision of the spirit — a pano- 
rama of the new life in store for it. But, mark this well — 
this panorama contains only the principal events. The 
spirit has free will as to detail. It is as if a man going to a 
distant city had a time-limit ticket, with initial choice of 
route. After he has chosen and begun his journey it is not 
sure that he can change to another route during the trip. 
He may stop over in as many places as he wishes, within 
his time limit, but he cannot go back. Thus as he proceeds 



130 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

on his journey, he becomes more and more limited by his 
past choice. If he has chosen a steam road, using soft coal, 
he must expect to be soiled and dusty. Had he chosen a 
road burning anthracite or using electricity he would have 
been cleaner. So it is with the man in a new life. He 
may have to live a hard life, but he is free to choose 
whether he will live it cleanly or wallow in the mire. 
Other conditions are also within his control, subject to the 
limits of his past choices and acts. 

The pictures in the panorama of the coming life, of 
which we have just spoken, begin at the cradle and end at 
the grave. This is the opposite direction to that in which 
they travel in the after-death panorama, already explained, 
which passes before the vision of the spirit immediately 
following its release from the dense body. The reason for 
this radical difference in the two panoramas is that in the 
before-birth panorama the object is to show the reincar- 
nating Ego how certain causes or acts always produce cer- 
tain effects. In the case of the after-death panorama the 
object is the reverse, i. e., to show how each event in the 
past life was the effect of some cause further back in the 
life. Nature, or God, does nothing without a logical rea- 
son, and the further we search the more apparent it becomes 
to us that Nature is a wise mother, always using the best 
means to accomplish her ends. 

But it may be asked. Why should we reincarnate ? Why 
must we return to this limited and miserable earth exist- 
ence? Why can we not get experience in those higher 
realms without coming to Earth? We are tired of this 
dreary, weary earth life ! 

Such queries are based upon misunderstandings of sev- 
eral kinds. In the first place, let us realize and engrave it 
deep upon the tablets of our memory that the purpose of 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 131 

life is not happiness, hut experience. Sorrow and pain 
are our most benevolent teachers^ while the joys of life are 
but fleeting. 

This seems a stern doctrine and the heart cries out pas- 
sionately at even the thought that it may possibly be true. 
Nevertheless, it is true, and upon examination it will be 
found not such a stern doctrine after all. 

Consider the blessings of pain. If we could place our 
hand upon a hot stove and feel no pain, the hand might be 
allowed to remain until it and perhaps the arm were 
burned away, without our knowing anytliing about it until 
too late to save them. It is the pain resulting from the 
contact with the hot stove which makes us snatch our 
hand away before serious damage is done. Instead of los- 
ing the hand, we escape with a blister which quickly heals. 
This is an illustration from the Physical World. We find 
that the same principle applies in the Moral and Mental 
Worlds. If we outrage morality the pangs of conscience 
bring us pain that will prevent us from repeating the act 
and if we do not heed the first lesson, nature will give us 
harder and harder experiences until at last the fact is 
forced into our consciousness that "the way of the trans- 
gressor is hard.'^ This will continue until at last we are 
forced to turn in a new direction and take a step onward 
toward a better life. 

Experience is "knowledge of the causes which follow 
acts." This is the object of life, together with the devel- 
opment of "Will," which is the force whereby we apply 
the results of experience. Experience must be gained, but 
we have the choice whether we gain it by the hard path of 
personal experience or by observation of other people's acts, 
reasoning and reflecting thereon, guided by the light of 
whatever experience we have already had. 



132 ROSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

This is the method by which the occult student should 
learn, instead of requiring the lash of adversity and pain. 
The more willing we are to learn in that way, the less we 
shall feel the stinging thorns of "the path of pain" and 
the more quickly shall we gain "the path of peace." 

The choice is ours, but so long as we have not learned 
all there is to learn in this world, we must come back to it. 
We cannot stay in the higher worlds and learn there until 
we have mastered the lessons of earth life. That would 
be as sensible as to send a child to kindergarten one day 
and to college the next. The child must return to the kin- 
dergarten day after ,day and spend years in the grammar 
school and the high school before its study has developed 
its capacity sufficiently to enable it to understand the les- 
sons taught in college. 

Man is also in school — the school of experience. He 
must return many times before he can hope to master 
all the knowledge in the world of sense. No one earth 
life, however rich in experience, could furnish the knowl- 
edge, so nature decrees that he must return to Earth, after 
intervals of rest, to take up his work where he dropped it, 
exactly as a child takes up its work in school each da}^ 
after the intervening sleep of night. It is no argument 
against this theory to say that man does not remember his 
former lives. We cannot recall all the events of our pres- 
ent lives. We do not recollect our labors in learning to 
write, yet we have acquired a knowledge of the art of writ- 
ing, which proves that we did learn. All the faculties we 
possess are a proof that we acquired them sometime, some- 
where. Some people do remember their past, however, as 
a remarkable instance related at the end of the next chap- 
ter will show, and it is but one among many. 

Again, if there were no return to Earth, what is the 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 133 

use of living? Why strive for anything? Why should a 
life of happiness in an eternal heaven be the reward for a 
good life ? What benefit could come from a good life in a 
heaven where everybody is already happy? Surely in a 
place where everybody is happy and contented there is no 
need for sympathy, self-sacrifice or wise counsel! No one 
would need them there; but on Earth there are many who 
need those very things and such humanitarian and altru- 
istic qualities are of the greatest service to struggling hu- 
manity. Therefore the Great Law, which works for Good, 
brings man back to work again in the world for the benefit 
of himself and others, with his acquired treasures, instead 
of letting them go to waste in a heaven where no one 
needs them. 

Preparations for Rebirth. 

Having thus seen the necessity for repeated embodiments, 
"we will next consider the method by which this purpose is 
accomplished. 

Previous to taking the dip into matter, the threefold 
spirit is naked, having only the forces of the four seed- 
atoms (which are the nuclei of the threefold body and the 
sheath of mind). Its descent resembles the putting on of 
several pairs of gloves of increasing thickness, as previ- 
ously illustrated. The forces of the mind of the last 
incarnation are awakened from their latency in the seed- 
atom. This begins to attract to itself materials from the 
highest subdivision of the Region of Concrete Thought, 
in a manner similar to that in which a magnet draws to 
itself iron filings. 

If we hold a magnet over a miscellaneous heap of filings 
of brass, silver, gold, iron, lead and other metals, we shall 
find that it selects only iron filings and that even of them 



134 EOSTCRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

it will take no more than its strength enables it to lift. 
Its attractive power is of a certain kind and is limited to a 
certain quantity of that kind. The same is true of the 
seed-atom. It can take, in each Eegion, nothing except the 
material for which it has an affinity and nothing beyond a 
certain definite quantity even of that. Thus the vehicle 
built around this nucleus becomes an exact counterpart of 
the corresponding vehicle of the last incarnation,, minus the 
evil which has been expurgated and plus the quintessence 
of good which has been incorporated in the seed-atom. 

The material selected by the threefold spirit forms itself 
into a great bell-shaped figure, open at the bottom and with 
the seed-atom at the top. If we conceive of this illustration 
spiritually we may compare it to a diving-bell descending 
into a sea composed of fluids of increasing density. These 
correspond to the different subdivisions of each World. 
The matter taken into the texture of the bell-shaped body 
makes it heavier, so that it sinks into the next lower sub- 
division and takes from that its proper quota of matter. 
Thus it becomes still heavier and sinks yet deeper until it 
has passed through the four subdivisions of the Eegion of 
Concrete Thought and the sheath of the new mind of the 
man is complete. Next the forces in the seed-atom of the 
desire body are awakened. It places itself at the top of the 
bell, inside, and the materials of the seventh Eegion of the 
Desire World draw around it until it sinks to the sixth 
Eegion, getting more material there, and this process con- 
tinues until the first Eegion of the Desire World is reached. 
The bell has now two layers — the sheath of mind outside 
and the new desire body inside. 

The seed-atom of the vital body is next aroused into 
activity, but here the process of formation is not so simple 
as in the case of the mind and the desire body, for it must 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 135 

be remembered that those vehicles were comparatively un- 
organized, while the vital body and the dense body are 
more organized and very complicated. The material, of a 
given quantity and quality, is attracted in the same man- 
ner and under the operation of the same law as in the case 
of the higher bodies, but the building of the new body 
and the placement in the proper environment is done by 
four great Beings of immeasurable wisdom, which are the 
Eecording Angels, the "Lords of Destiny/' They impress 
the reflecting ether of the vital body in such a way that the 
pictures o-*^ the coming life are reflected in it. It (the vital 
body) is built by the inhabitant- of the Heaven World and 
the elemental spirits in such a manner as to form a 
particular type of brain. But mark thi- the recincarnat- 
ing Ego itself incorporates therein the quintessence of its 
former vital bodies and in addition to this also does a 
little original worh. This is done that in the coming life 
there may be some room for original and individual expres- 
sion, not predetermined by past action. 

It is very important io remember this fact. There is too 
great a tendency to think that all which now exists is the 
result of something that previously existed, but if that were 
the case there would be no margin left for new and original 
effort and for new causes. The chain of cause and effect is 
not a monotonous repetition. There is an influx of new 
and original causes all the time. That is the real back- 
bone of evolution — the only thing that gives it meaning 
and makes it other than an unrolling of latent actualities. 
This is "Epigenesis" — the free-will that consists of the 
freedom to inaugurate something entirely new, not merely 
a choice between two courses of action. This is the impor- 
tant factor which alone can explain the system to which 
we belong in satisfactory manner. Involution and Evolu- 



136 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

tion in themselves are insufficient; but coupled with Epi- 
genesis we have a full triad of explanation. 

The fate of an individual generated under the law of 
Consequence, is of great complexity and involves associa- 
tion with Egos in and out of incarnation at all times. Even 
those incarnated at one time may not be living in the same 
locality, so that it is impossible for one individual's destiny 
to be all worked out in one lifetime, or in one place. The 
Ego is therefore brought into a certain environment and 
family with which it is in some way related. As regards 
the fate to be worked out it is sometimes immaterial into 
which one of several environments the Ego is incarnated, 
and when such is the^ case, it is allowed its choice as far as 
possible, but once an Ego is so placed, the agents of the 
Lords of Destiny watch unseen, that no act of free-will 
'shall frustrate the w^orking out of the portion of fate 
selected. If we do aught of such a nature as to circumvent 
that part, they will make another move, so as to enforce 
fulfillment of the destiny. It cannot be too often reiter- 
ated, however, that this does not render man helpless. It 
is merely the same law that governs after we have fired a 
pistol. We are then unable to stop the bullet, or even to 
deflect it from its course in any way. Its direction was 
determined by the position in which the pistol was held 
when we fired. That could have been changed at any 
time before the trigger was pulled, as up to that time we 
had full control. The same is true regarding new actions 
which make future destiny. We may, up to a certain point, 
modify or even altogether counteract certain causes already 
set in motion, but once started, and no further action 
taken, they will some time get beyond our control. This is 
called "ripe" fate and it is this kind that is meant when 
it is said that the Lords of Destiny check every attempt to 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 137 

Ehirk it. With regard to our past we are to a great extent 
helpless, Lut in regard to future action we have full con- 
trol, except insofar as we are hampered by our past actions. 
By and by, however, as we learn that we are the cause of 
our own sorrow or joy, we shall awake to the necessity of 
ordering our lives more in harmony with the laws of God 
and thus rise above these laws of the Physical World. 
That is the key to emancipation; as Goethe says: 

From every power that all the world enchains 
Man frees himself when self-control he gains. 

The vital body, having been molded by the Lords of 
Destiny, will give form to the dense body, organ for organ. 
This matrix or mold is then placed in the womb of the 
future mother. The seed-atom for the dense body is in 
tlie triangular head of one of the spermatozoa in the semen 
of the father. This alone makes fertilization possible and 
here is the explanation of the fact that so many times 
sex-unions are unfruitful. The chemical constituents of 
the seminal fluid and the ovi are the same at all times and 
were these the only requirements, the explanation of the 
phenomena of unfertility, if sought in the material, visible 
world alone, would not be found. It becomes plain, how- 
ever, when we understand that as the molecules of water 
freeze only along the lines of force in the water and 
manifest as ice crystals instead of freezing into a homogen- 
eous mass, as would be the case if there were no lines of 
force previous to coagulation, so there can be no dense body 
built until there is a vital body in which to build the 
material; also there must be a seed-atom for the dense 
bod}^ to act as gauge of the quality and quantity of the 
matter which is to be built into that dense body. Although 
at the present stage of development there is never full har- 



138 ROSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

mony in the materials of the bod}^, because that would mean 
a perfect body, yet the discord must not be so great as to 
be disruptive of the organism. 

Thus while heredity in the first place is true only as 
regards the material of the dense body and not the soul 
qualities, which are entirely individual, the incoming Ego 
also does a certain amount of work on its dense body, in- 
corporating in it the quintessence of its past physical quali- 
ties. No body is an exact mixture of the qualities of its 
parents, although the Ego is restricted to the use of the 
materials taken from the bodies of the father and mother. 
Hence a musician incarnates where he can get the material 
to build the slender hand and the delicate ear, with its 
sensitive fibres of Corti and its accurate adjustment of the 
Jhree semicircular canals. The arrangement of these mate- 
rials, however, is, to the extent named, under the control 
of the Ego. It is as though a carpenter were given a pile 
of boards to use in building a house in which to live, but 
is left to his own judgment as to the kind of house he 
wishes to build. 

Except in the case of a very highly developed being, 
this work of the Ego is almost negligible at the present 
stage of man's evolution. The greatest scope is given in 
the building of the desire body, very little in that of the 
vital body and almost none in the dense body; yet even 
this little is sufficient to make each individual an expres- 
sion of his own spirit and different from the parents. 

When the impregnation of the ovum has taken place, 
the desire body of the mother works upon it for a period 
of from eighteen to twenty-one days, the Ego remaining 
outside in its desire body and mind sheath, yet always in 
close touch with the mother. Upon the expiration of that 
time the Ego enters the mother's body. The bell-shaped 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 139 

vehicles draw themselves down over the head of the vital 
body and the bell closes at the bottom. From this time 
the Ego broods over its coming instrument until the birth 
of the child and the new earth life of the reincarnating 
Ego commences. 

Birth of the Dense Body. 

The vehicles of the new-born do not at once become 
active. The dense body is helpless for a long time after 
birth. Reasoning from analogy we can readily see that the 
same must be the case with the higher vehicles. The occult 
scientist sees it^ but even without clairvoyance reason will 
show that this must be so. As the dense body is slowly 
prepared for the separate, individual life within the pro- 
tecting cover of the womb, so tlie other bodies are gradu- 
ally born and nurtured into activity, and while the times 
given in the following description are but approximate, they 
are nevertheless accurate enough for general purposes and 
show the connection between the Microcosm and the Macro- 
cosm — tlie individual and the world. 

In the period immediately following birth the different 
vehicles inter-penetrate one another, as, in our previous 
illustration, the sand penetrates the sponge and the water 
both sand and sponge. But, though they are all present, as 
in adult life, they are merely present. None of their posi- 
tive faculties are active. The vital body cannot use the 
forces which operate along the positive pole of the ethers. 
Assimilation, which works along the positive pole of the 
chemical ether, is very dainty during childhood and what 
there is of it is due to the macrocosmic vital body, the 
ethers which act as a womb for the child's vital body until 
the seventh year, gradually ripening it during that period. 
The propagative faculty, which works along the positive 



140 EOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

pole of the life ether, is also latent. The heating of the 
body — which is carried on along the positive pole of the 
light ether — and the circulation of the blood are due to 
the macrocosmic vital body, the ethers acting on the child 
and slowly developing it to the point where it can control 
these functions itself. The forces working along the nega- 
tive pole of the ethers are so much the more active. The 
excretion of solids, carried on along the negative pole of 
the chemical ether (corresponding to the solid subdivision 
of the Chemical Eegion), is too unrestrained, as is also the 
excretion of fluid, which is carried on along the negative 
pole of the life ether (corresponding to the second or fluid 
subdivision of the Chemical Region). The passive sense- 
perception, which is due to the negative forces of the light 
ether, is also exceedingly prominent. The child is very 
impressionable and it is "all eyes and ears." 

During the earlier years the forces operating along the 
negative pole of the reflecting ether are also extremely 
active. In those years children can "see" the higher 
Worlds and they often prattle about what they see until 
the ridicule of their elders or punishment for "telling sto- 
ries" teaches them to desist. 

It is deplorable that the little ones are forced to lie — 
or at least to deny the truth — because of the incredulity of 
their "wise" elders. Even the investigations of the Society 
for Psychical Research have proven that children often 
have invisible playmates, who frequently visit them until 
they are several years old. During those years the clair- 
voyance of the children is of the same negative character 
as that of the mediums. 

It is the same with the forces working in the desire 
body. The passive feeling of physical pain is present, while 
the feeling of emotion is almost entirely absent. The child 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 141 

will, of course, show emotion on the slightest provocation, 
but the duration of that emotion is but momentary. It 
is all on the surface. 

The child also has the link of mind, but is almost incapa- 
ble of individual thought-activity. It is exceedingly sensi- 
tive to forces working along the negative pole and is there- 
fore imitative and teachable. 

Thus it is shown that all the negative qualities are active 
in the new-born entity, but before it is able to use its 
different vehicles, the positive qualities must be ripened. 

Each vehicle is therefore brought to a certain degree of 
maturity by the activity of the corresponding vehicle of 
the macrocosm, which acts as a womb for it until that 
degree is reached. 

From the first to the seventh year the vital body grows 
and slowly matures within the womb of the macrocosmic 
vital body and because of the greater wisdom of this vehicle 
of the macrocosm the child's body is more rounded and 
well-built than in later life. 

Birth of the Vital Body. 

While the macrocosmic vital body guides the growth of 
the child's body it is guarded from the dangers which later 
threaten it when the unwise individual vital body takes 
unchecked charge. This happens in the seventh year, when 
the period of excessive, dangerous growth begins, and con- 
tinues through the next seven years. During this time 
the macrocosmic desire body performs the function of a 
womb for the individual desire body. 

Were the vital body to have continual and unrestrained 
sway in the human kingdom, as it has in the plant, man 
would grow to an enormous size. There was a time in the 
far-distant past when man was constituted like a plant, 



143 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

having only a dense body and a vital body. The traditions 
of mythology and folk-lore all over the world concerning 
giants in olden times are absolutely trne, because then men 
grew as tall as trees, and for the same reason. 

Birth of the Desire Body. 

The vital body of the plant builds leaf after leaf, carry- 
ing the stem higher and higher. Were it not for the 
macrocosmic desire body it would keep on in that way 
indefinitely, but the macrocosmic desire body steps in at a 
certain point and checks further growth. The force that 
is not needed for further growth is then available for 
other purposes and is used to build the flower and the seed. 
In like manner the human vital body, when the dense 
.body comes under its sway, after the seventh year, makes 
the latter grow very rapidly, but about the fourteenth year 
the individual desire body is born from the womb of the 
macrocosmic desire body and is then free to work on its 
dense body. The excessive growth is then checked and 
the force therefore used for that purpose becomes available 
for propagation, that the human plant may flower and 
bring forth. Therefore the birth of the personal desire 
body marks the period of puberty. From this period the 
attraction towards the opposite sex is felt, being especially 
active and unrestrained in the third septenary period of 
life — from the fourteenth to the twenty-first year, because 
the restraining mind is then still unborn. 

Birth of the Mind. 

After the fourteenth year, the mind is in turn brooded 
over and nurtured by the macrocosmic mind, unfolding its 
latent possibilities and making it capable of original 
thought. The forces of the individual's different vehicles 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 143 

have now been ripened to such a degree that he can use 
them all in his evolution, therefore at the twenty-first year 
the Ego comes into possession of its complete vehicle. It 
does this by means of the blood-heat and by developing 
individual blood. This is done in connection with the 
full development of the light ether. 

The Blood the Vehicle of the Ego. 

In infancy, and up to the fourteenth year, the red mar- 
row-bones do not make all the blood corpuscles. Most of 
them are supplied by the thymus gland, which is largest 
in the foetus and gradually diminishes as the individual 
blood-making faculty develops in the growing child. The 
thymus gland contains, as it were, a supply of blood cor- 
puscles given by the parents, and consequently the child, 
which draws its blood from that source, does not realize its 
individuality. ISTot until the blood is made by the child 
does it think of itself as "I/' and when the thymus gland 
disappears, at the age of fourteen, the "I" feeling reaches 
its full expression, for then the blood is made and dom- 
inated entirely by the Ego. The following will make clear 
the idea and its logic: 

It will be remembered that assimilation and growth de- 
pend upon the forces working along the positive pole of 
the vital body's chemical ether. That is set free at the 
seventh year, together with the balance of the vital body. 
Only the chemical ether is fully ripe at that time; the 
other parts need more ripening. At the fourteenth year 
the life ether of the vital body, which has to do with 
propagation, is fully ripe. In the period from seven to 
fourteen years of age the excessive assimilation has stored 
up an amount of force which goes to the sex organs and 
is ready at the time the desire body is set free. 



144 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

This force of sex is stored in the blood during the third 
of the seven-year periods and in that time the light ether, 
which is the avenue for the blood-heat, is developed and 
controls the heart, so that the body is neither too hot nor 
too cold. In early childhood the blood very often rises 
to an abnormal temperature. During the period of ex- 
cessive growth it is frequently the reverse, but in the hot- 
headed, unrestrained youth, passion and temper very often 
drive the Ego out by over-heating the blood. We very 
appropriately call this an ebullition or boiling over of 
temper and describe the effect as caucing the person to 
"lose his head," i. e., become incapable of thought. That 
is exactly what happens when passion, rage, or temper 
overheats the blood, thus drawing the Ego outside the 
Uodies. The description is accurate when, of a person in 
such a state, we say, "He has lost control of himself.^' The 
Ego is outside of his vehicles and they are running amuck, 
bereft of the guiding influence of thought, part of the work 
of which is to act as a brake on impulse. The great and 
terrible danger of such outbursts is that before the owner 
re-enters his body some disembodied entity may take pos- 
session of it and keep him out. This is called "obsession." 
Only the man who keeps cool and does not allow excess of 
heat to drive him out can think properly. As proof of the 
assertion that the Ego cannot work in the body when the 
blood is either too hot or too cold we will call attention to 
the well-known fact that excessive heat makes one sleepy 
and, if carried beyond a certain point, it drives the Ego 
out, leaving the body in a faint, that is, unconscious. 
Excessive cold has also a tendency to make the body sleepy 
or unconscious. It is only when the blood is at or near 
the normal temperature that the Ego can use it as a 
vehicle of consciousness. 



MAN AND THE METHOD OF EVOLUTION 145 

To further show the connection of the Ego with the 
blood we may mention the burning blush of shame, which 
is an evidence of the manner in which the blood is driven 
to the head, thus over-heating the brain and paralyzing 
thought. Fear is the state when the Ego wants to barri- 
cade himself against some outside danger. He then drives 
the blood to the center and grows pale, because the blood 
has left the periphery of the body and has lost heat, thus 
paralyzing thought. His blood "freezes," he shivers and 
his teeth chatter, as when the temperature is lowered by 
atmospheric conditions. In fever the excess of heat causes 
delirium. 

The full-blooded person, when the blood is not too hot, 
is active in body and mind, while the anemic person is 
sleepy. In one the Ego has better control ; in the other less. 
When the Ego wants to think it drives blood, at the proper 
heat, to the brain. When a heavy meal centers the activity 
of the Ego upon the digestive tracts, the man cannot think ; 
he is sleepy. 

The old Norsemen and the Scots recognized that the 
Ego is in the blood. No stranger could become associated 
with them as a relative until he had "mixed blood" with 
them and thus become one of them. Goethe, who was an 
Initiate, also showed this in his "Faust." Faust is about 
to sign the compact with Mephistopheles and asks, ^^hy 
not sign with ordinary ink? Why use blood?" Mephisto 
answers, "Blood is a most peculiar essence." He knows, 
that who has the blood has the man; that without the 
warm blood, no Ego can find expression. 

The proper heat for the real expression of the Ego is not 
present until the mind is born from the macrocosmic Con- 
crete Mind, when the individual is about twenty-one years 



U6 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

old. Statutory law also recognizes this as the earliest age 
when the man is deemed fit to exercise a franchise. 

At the present stage of human development the man 
goes through these principal stages in each life cycle, from 
one birth to the next. 



CHAPTER IV. 
Eebirth and the Law of Consequence. 

ONLY three theories worthy of note have ever been 
brought forward to solve the riddle of Life and 
Death. 
In the previous chapter we have, to some extent, ex- 
plained one of these three theories — that of Rebirth, to- 
gether with its companion law, the law of Consequence. 
It may not be out of place to compare the theory of Re- 
birth with the other two theories advanced, with a view 
to ascertaining their relative foundation in nature. To 
the occultist there can be no question. He does not say 
that he "believes" in it any more than we need to say that 
we "believe" as to the blooming of the rose or the flowing 
of the river, or the operation of any of the visible workings 
of the material world^ which are continually going on be- 
fore our eyes. We do not say of these things that we "be- 
lieve;" we say that we "know," because we see them. So 
the occult scientist can say "I know" in regard to Rebirth, 
the law of Consequence and their corollaries. He sees the 
Ego and can trace its path after it has passed out of the 
dense body at death until it has reappeared on earth 
through a new birth. Therefore to him no "belief" is 
necessary. For the satisfaction of others, however, it may 
be well to examine these three theories of life and death 
in order to arrive at an intelligent conclusion. 

Any great law of nature must necessarily be in harmony 

147 



14:8 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

with all her other laws. Therefore it may be very helpful 
to the inquirer to examine these theories in their relation 
to what are admitted by all parties to be "known laws of 
nature/^ as observed in that part of our universe with 
which we are more familiar. To this end we will first 
state the three theories: 

(1) The Materialistic Theory holds that life is a 
journey from the womb to the tomb; that mind is 
the result of certain correlations of matter ; that 
man is the highest intelligence in the Cosmos ; and, 
that his intelligence perishes when the body disin- 
tegrates at death. 

(2) The Theory of Theology asserts that at each birth 
a newly-created soul enters the arena of life fresh 

• from the hand of God, passing from an invisible 

state through the gate of birth into visible exist- 
ence; that at the end of one short span of life in 
the material world it passes out through the gate 
of death into the invisible beyond, whence it returns 
no more; that its happiness or misery there is de- 
termined for all eternity by its actions during the 
infinitesimal period intervening between birth and 
death. 

(3) The Theory of Eebirth teaches that each soul is 
an integral part of God, enfolding all divine possi- 
bilities as the seed enfolds the plant ; that by means 
of repeated existences in an earthly body of gradu- 
ally improving quality, the latent possibilities are 
slowly developed into dynamic powers; that none 
are lost by this process, but that all mankind will 
ultimately attain the goal of perfection and re-union 
with God. 

The first of these theories is monistic. It seeks to ex- 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 149 

plain all facts of existence as processes within the material 
world. The two other theories agree in being dualistic, 
that is, they ascribe some of the facts and phases of exist- 
ence to a super-physical, invisible state, but they differ 
widely on other points. 

Bringing the materialistic theory into comparison with 
the known laws of the universe, we find that the con- 
tinuity of force is as well established as the continuity of 
matter and both are beyond the need of elucidation. We 
also know that matter and force are inseparable in the 
Physical World. This is contrary to the materialistic the- 
ory, w^hich holds that mind perishes at death. When 
nothing can be destroyed, mind must be included. More- 
over we know that mind is superior to matter, for it molds 
the face, so that it becomes a reflection or mirror of the 
mind. We have discovered that the particles of our bodies 
are constantly changing; that at least once in seven years 
there is a change in every atom of matter composing them. 
If the materialistic theory were true, the consciousness 
ought also to undergo an entire change, with no memory 
of that which preceded, so that at no time could man re- 
member any event more than seven years. We know that 
this is not the case. We remember the events of our child- 
hood. Many of the most trivial incidents though forgotten 
in ordinary consciousness, have been distinctly recalled in 
a swift vision of the whole life by drowning persons, who 
have related the experience after resuscitation. Similar 
experiences in states of trance are also common. Materi- 
alism is unable to account for these phases of sub- and 
super-consciousness. It ignores them. At the present stage 
of scientific investigation, where leading scientists have 
established beyond a doubt the existence of these phenom- 
ena, the policy of ignoring them is a serious defect in a 



150 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

theory claiming to solve the greatest problem of life — 
Life itself. 

We may therefore safely pass from the materialistic 
theory as being inadequate to solve the mystery of life and 
death and turn to a consideration of the next theory. 

One of the greatest objections to the orthodox theological 
doctrine, as it is expounded, is its entire and confessed 
inadequacy. Of the myriads of souls which have been 
created and have inhabited this Globe since the beginning 
of existence, even if that beginning dates back no further 
than six thousand years, the insignificant number of 
only "one hundred and forty and four thousand" are to 
be saved! The rest are to be tortured forever and ever! 
The devil gets the best of it all the time. One cannot help 
s?iying with Buddha, "If God permits such misery to exist 
He cannot be good, and if He is powerless to prevent it, 
He cannot be God." 

Nothing in nature is analogous to such a method of 
creation in order that destruction may follow. It is repre- 
sented that God desires ALL should be saved and is averse 
to the destruction of any, having for their salvation "given 
His only Son," and yet this "glorious plan of salvation" 
fails to save I . 

If a trans-Atlantic liner with two thousand souls on 
board sent a wireless message that she was sinking just 
off Sandy Hook, would it be regarded as a "glorious plan 
of salvation" if a fast motor-boat capable of rescuing only 
two or three people, were sent to her aid ? Certainly not I 
It would more likely be denounced as a "plan of destruc- 
tion" if adequate means were not provided for the saving 
of at least the majority of those in danger. 

But the theologians' plan of salvation is vastly worse 
than this, because two or three out of two thousand is an 



REBIBTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 151 

immensely greater proportion than the orthodox theo- 
logical plan of saving only 144,000 out of all the myriads 
of souls created. We may safely reject this theory also, 
as being untrue, because unreasonable. If God were all- 
wise He would have evolved a more efficacious plan. So 
He has, and the above is only the theory of the theologian. 
The teaching of the Bible is very different, as will appear 
later. 

We turn now to consider the doctrine of Eebirth, which 
postulates a slow process of development, carried on with 
unwavering persistence through repeated embodiments in 
forms of increasing efficiency whereby all are, in time, 
brought to a height of spiritual splendor at present incon- 
ceivable to us. There is nothing unreasonable nor difficult 
to accept in such a theory. As we look about us we find 
ever}^here in nature this striving for perfection in a slow, 
persistent manner. We find no sudden process of creation 
or destruction, such as the theologian postulates, but we do 
find "Evolution." 

Evolution is "the history of the progression of the 
Spirit in Time." Ever}'where, as we see about us the 
varied phenomena in the universe, we realize that the path 
of evolution is a spiral. Each loop of the spiral is a cycle. 
Each cycle merges into the next, as the loops of the spiral 
are continuous, each cycle being the improved product of 
those preceding it and the creator of those more developed 
states which succeed it. 

A straight line is but the extension of a point. It occu- 
pies but one dimension in space. The theory of the mate- 
rialist and that of the theologian would be analogous to this 
line. The materialist makes the line of life start at birth, 
and to be consistent, the death hour must terminate it. 
The theologian commences his line with the creation of 



152 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the soul just previous to birth. After death the soul lives 
on, its fate irretrievably determined by the deeds of a few 
short years. There is no coming back to correct mistakes. 
The line runs straight on, implying a modicum of experi- 
ence and no elevation for the soul after death. 

Nothing in nature moves in a straight line such as these 
two theories imply; nor do they move even in circles, for 
that would imply a never-ending round of the same experi- 
ences and the use of only two dimensions in space. All 
things move in progressive cycles and in order to take 
full advantage of all the opportunities for advancement 
offered by our three-dimensional universe, it is necessary 
that the evolving life should take the three-dimensional 
path — ^the spiral — which goes ever onward and upward. 
• Whether we look at the modest little plant in our garden 
or go to the redwood district of California and examine one 
of the giant sequoias with its forty-foot diameter, it is 
always the same — every branch, twig or leaf will be found 
growing in either a single or a double spiral, or in opposite 
pairs, each balancing either, analogous to ebb and flow, 
day and night, life and death and other alternating activi- 
ties in nature. 

Examine the vaulted arch of the sky and observe the, 
fiery nebulae or the path of the Solar Systems — everywhere 
the spiral meets the eye. In the spring the Earth discards 
its white blanket and emerges from its period of rest — 
its winter's sleep. All activities are exerted to bring forth 
new life everywhere. Time passes. The corn and the 
grape are ripened and harvested. Again the busy summer 
fades into the silence and inactivity of the winter. Again 
the snowy coverlet enwraps the Earth. But her sleep is 
not forever; she will wake again to the song of the new* 



EEBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 153 

spring, which will mark for her a little further progress 
along the pathway of time. 

So with the Sun. He rises in the morning of each day, 
but each morning he is further along on his journey 
through the year. 

Everywhere the spiral — Onward, Upward, Forever! 

Is it possible that this law, so universal in all other 
realms, should be inoperative in the life of man? Shall 
the earth wake each year from its winter sleep; shall the 
tree and the flower live again and man die ? It cannot be ! 
The same law that wakes the life in the plant to new 
growth will wake the human being to new experience, to 
further progress toward the goal of perfection. Therefore 
the theory of Eebirth, which teaches repeated embodiment 
in gradually improving vehicles, is in perfect accord with 
evolution and the phenomena of nature, which the other 
two theories are not. 

Eegarding life from an ethical viewpoint, we find that 
the law of Eebirth coupled with the companion law of Con- 
sequence, is the only theory that will satisfy a sense of 
justice, in harmony with the facts of life as we see them 
about us. 

It is not easy for the logical mind to understand how a 
"just and loving" God can require the same virtues from 
the milliards whom He has been "pleased to place in dif- 
fering circumstances" according to no apparent rule nor 
system, but willy-nilly, according to His own capricious 
mood. One lives in luxury; the other on "kicks and 
crusts." One has a moral education and an atmosphere of 
high ideals ; the other is placed in squalid surroundings and 
taught to lie and steal and that the more he does of both, 
the more of a success he is. Is it just to require the same 
of both? Is it right to reward one for living a good life 



154 EOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

when he was placed in an environment that made it ex- 
tremely difficult for him to go astra}^, or to punish the 
other, who was handicapped to such an extent that he never 
had an idea of what constitutes true morality. Surely not ! 
Is it not more logical to think that we may have misin- 
terpreted the Bible than to impute to God such a mon- 
strous plan and method of procedure? 

It is useless to say that we must not inquire into the 
mysteries of God; that they are past our finding out. The 
inequalities of life can be satisfactorily explained by the 
twin law of Eebirth and Consequence and made to har- 
monize with the conception of a just and loving God, as 
taught by Christ Himself. 

Moreover, by means of these twin laws a way to emanci- 
pation from present undesirable position or environment 
is shown, together with the means of attaining to any de- 
gree of development, no matter how imperfect we may be 
now. 

Wliat we are, what we have, all our good qualities are 
the result of our own actions in the past. What we lack 
in physical, moral, or mental excellence may yet be ours 
in the future. 

Exactly as we cannot do otherwise than take up our 
lives each morning where we laid them down the preceding 
night, GO by our work in previous lives have we made the 
conditions under which we now live and labor, and are 
at present creating the conditions of our future lives. 
Instead of bemoaning the lack of this or that faculty which 
we covet, we must set to work to acquire it. 

If one child plays beautifully on a musical instrument, 
with hardly an effort at learning, while another, despite 
persistent effort, is a poor player in comparison, it merely 
shows that one expended the effort, in a previous life and is 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 155 

easily regaining a former proficiency, wliile the efforts of the 
other have been started only in the present incarnation, and 
in consequence we see the uphill work. But, if the latter 
persist, he may^ even in the present life, become superior 
to the former unless the former constantly improves. 

That we do not remember the effort made in acquiring 
a faculty by hard work is immaterial; it does not alter 
the fact that the faculty remains with us. 

Genius is the hall-mark of the advanced soul, which by 
hard work in many previous lives has developed itself in 
some direction beyond the normal achievements of the 
race. It reveals a glimpse of the degree of attainment 
which will be the common possession of the coming Eace. 
It cannot be accounted for by heredity, which applies only 
in part to the dense body and not to qualities of the soul. 
If genius could be accounted for by heredity, why is there 
not a long line of mechanical ancestors previous to Thomas 
Edison, each more capable than his predecessor? Why does 
not genius propagate itself ? Why is not Siegfried the son, 
greater than Eichard Wagner, the father? 

In cases where the expression of genius depends upon 
the possession of specially constructed organs, requiring 
ages of development, the Ego naturally incarnates in a 
family the Egos of which have, for generations, labored 
to build a similar organism. That is why twenty-nine 
musicians of more or less genius incarnated in the Biich 
family during a period of two hundred and fifty years. 
That genius is an. expression of the soul and not of the 
body is shown by the fact that it did not gradually im- 
prove and reach efflorescence in the person of John Sebas- 
tian Bach, but that the proficiency which reached its high- 
est expression in him towered high above ancestors and 
descendants alike. 



156 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The body is simply an instrument, the work it yields 
being dependent upon the Ego which guides it, as the 
quality of the melody is dependent upon the musician's 
skill, aided by the timbre of the instrument. A good 
musician cannot fully express himself upon a poor in- 
strument, " and even upon the same instrument, all musi- 
cians do not and cannot play alike. Because an Ego in- 
carnates as the son of a great musician it does not neces- 
sarily follow that he must be a still greater genius, as 
would be the case if physical heredity were a fact and 
genius were not a soul-quality. 

The "Law of Attraction" accounts in quite as satisfac- 
tory a manner for the facts we ascribe to heredity. We 
know that people of like tastes will seek one another. If 
• we know that a friend is in a certain city, but are ignorant 
of his address, we will naturally be governed by the law 
of association in our efforts to find him. If he is a musi- 
cian, he will most likely be found where musicians are 
wont to assemble ; if he is a student inquiry will be made 
at libraries, reading-rooms and book stores, or if he is a 
sporting man we would seek him at race tracks, poolrooms 
or saloons. It is not probable that the musician or the 
student would frequent the latter places and it is safe. to 
say that our search for the sporting man would not be 
successful if we sought him in a library or at a classical 
concert. 

Similarly, the Ego ordinarily gravitates to the most 
congenial associations. It is constrained to do so by one 
of the twin forces of the Desire World — the force of 
Attraction. 

The objection may be urged that there are people of 
entirely opposite tastes, or bitter enemies even, in the 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 157 

same family, and if the law of Association governed why 
should they be attracted thereto? 

The explanation of such cases is that during the Ego's 
earth lives many relations had been established with vari- 
ous people. These relations were pleasant or otherwise, 
involving on the one hand obligations which were not 
liquidated at the time ; or on the other involving the inflic- 
tion of an injury and a feeling of very strong hate between 
the injured and his enemy. The law of Consequence re- 
quires an exact adjustment of the score. Death does not 
''pay it all" any more than moving to another city will 
liquidate a monetary debt. The time comes when the two 
enemies shall meet again. The old hate has brought them 
together in the same family, because it is the purpose of 
God that all shall love one another; therefore hate must 
be transformed into love and though, perchance, they may 
spend many lives "fighting it out," they will at some time 
learn the lesson and become friends and mutual benefactors 
instead of enemies. In such cases the Interest these people 
had in one another set in action the force of Attraction, 
and that brought them together. Had they simply been 
mutually Indifferent, they could not have become 
associated. 

Thus do the twin laws of Eebirth and Consequence solve, 
in a rational manner, all the problems incident to human 
life as man steadily advances toward the next stage in 
evolution — the Superman. The trend of humanity's 
progress is onward and upward forever, says this theory 
— not as some people think, who have confounded the doc- 
trine of Rebirth with the foolish teaching of some Indian 
tribes who believe that man is reincarnated n animals or 
plants. That would be retrogression. No authority for 
this doctrine of retrogression can be found in nature or 



158 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

in the sacred books of any religion. In one (and one only) 
of the religions writings of India is it touched upon. In 
the Kathopanishad (ch. v; verse 9) it is stated that "Some 
men, according to their deeds, go into the womb and others 
into the ^sthanu.' ^' "Sthanu" is a Sanskrit word, which 
means "motionless," but it also means "a pillar," and has 
been interpreted to mean that some men, because of their 
sins, go back to the motionless plant kingdom. 

Spirits incarnate only to gain experience; to conquer 
the world; to overcome the lower self and attain self-mas- 
tery. When we realize this we shall understand that there 
comes a time when there is no further need for incarnation 
because the lessons have all been learned. The teaching 
of the Kathopanishad indicates that instead of remaining 
• tied to the wheel of birth and death^ man will at some time 
go into the motionless state of "Nirvana." 

In the Book of Eevelation we find these words: "Him 
that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my 
God and he shall go no more out," referring to entire lib- 
eration from concrete existence. Nowhere is there any 
authority for the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. 
A man who has evolved so far as to have an individual, 
separate soul cannot turn back in his progress and enter the 
vehicle of animal or plant, which are under a group-spirit. 
The individual spirit is a higher evolution than the group- 
spirit and the lesser cannot contain the greater. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his beautiful poem, "The 
Chambered Nautilus," has embodied this idea of constant 
progression in gradually improving vehicles, and final lib- 
eration. The nautilus builds its spiral shell in chambered 
sections, constantly leaving the smaller ones, which it has 
outgrown, for the one last built: 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 159 



Year after year beheld the silent toil 

That spread his lustrous coil; 

Still, as the spiral grew, 

He left the past year's dwelling for the new, 

Stole with soft step its shining archway through, 

Built up its idle door, 

Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more. 

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, 

Child of the wandering sea, 

Cast from her lap forlorn! 

From thy dead lips a clearer note is born 

Than ever Triton blew from wreathed horn! 

While on mine ear it rings. 

Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings: 

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul! 

As the swift seasons roll ! 

Leave thy low -vaulted past ! 

Let each new temple, nobler than the last. 

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, 

Till thou at length art free. 

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea! 

The necessity, previously referred to, of obtaining an 
organism of a specific nature, brings to mind an interesting 
phase of the twin laws of Eebirth and Consequence. These 
laws are connected with the motion of the Cosmic bodies, 
the Sun, the planets and the signs of the Zodiac. All move 
in harmony with these laws, guided in their orbits by their 
indwelling spiritual Intelligences — the Planetary Spirits. 

On account of the precession of the equinoxes the Sun 
moves backward through the twelve signs of the Zodiac at 
the rate of approximately one degree of space in 72 years, 
and through each sign (30 degrees of space) in about 
2,100 years, or around the whole circle in about 26,000 
years. 

This is due to the fact that the Earth does not spin upon 
a stationary axis. " Its axis has a slow, swinging motion of 
its own (just like thp wabble of a spinning top that has 



160 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

almost spent its force), so that it describes a circle in space 
and thus one star after another becomes Pole Star. 

Because of this wabbling motion the Sun does not cross 
the equator in the same place every year, but a few hun- 
dred rods further back, hence the name, the "precession of 
the equinoxes,^^ because the equinox "precedes — comes too 
early. 

All happenings on the Earth in connection with the 
other Cosmic bodies and their inhabitants are connected 
with this and other Cosmic movements. So are also the 
laws of Eebirth and Consequence. 

As the Sun passes through the different signs in the 
course of the year, the climatic and other changes affect 
man and his activities in different ways. Similarly the 
passage of the Sun by the precession of the equinoxes, 
through the twelve signs of the Zodiac — which is called a 
World-year, brings about conditions on the Earth of a far 
greater variety. It is necessary to the growth of the soul 
that it should experience them all. In fact, as we have 
seen, the' man himself makes these conditions while in 
the Heaven World between incarnations. Therefore, every 
Ego is born twice during the time the Sun is passing 
through one sign of the Zodiac; and, as the soul itself is 
necessarily double-sexed, in order to obtain all experience, 
it incarnates alternately in a male and a female body. This 
is because the experience of one sex differs widely from 
that of the other. At the same time, the outside conditions 
are not greatly altered in one thousand years and therefore 
permit the entity to receive experience in the same identical 
environment from the standpoint of both man and woman. 

These are the general terms upon which the law of 
Rebirth operates, but as it is not a blind law, it is subject 
to frequent modifications, determined by the Lords of 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 161 

Destiny, the Eecording Angels, as, for instance, in a case 
where an Ego needs a sensitive eye or ear and there is an 
opportunity for giving it the required instrument in a 
family with which relations have previously been estab- 
lished. The time for the incarnation of the Ego in ques- 
tion may lack, perhaps, two hundred years of being ripe, 
according to the average period, but it is seen by the Lords 
of Destiny that unless this opportunity is embraced, the 
Ego will perhaps have to spend four or five hundred years 
in heaven in excess of the time required, before another 
chance will present itself. Therefore the Ego is brought to 
incarnation ahead of schedule time, so to speak, the de- 
ficiency of rest in the third heaven being made up at an- 
other time. So we see that, not only do the departed work 
on us from the Heaven World, but we also work on them, 
attracting or repelling them. A favorable opportunity for 
procuring a suitable instrument may attract an Ego to 
incarnation. Had no instrument been available, he would 
have been kept longer in heaven and the surplus time 
deducted from his succeeding heaven lives. 

The law of Consequence also works in harmony with 
the stars, so that a man is horn at the time when the posi- 
tions of the bodies in the solar system will give the condi- 
tions necessary to his experience and advancement in the 
school of life. That is why Astrology is an absolutely true 
science, though even the best astrologer may misinterpret 
it, because^ like all other human beings, he is fallible. The 
stars show accurately the time in a man's life when the 
debt which the Lords of Destiny have selected for payment 
is due, and to evade it is beyond the power of man. Yes, 
they show the very day, although we are not always able to 
read them correctly. 

Perhaps the most striking instance known to the writer 



162 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of this inability to escape what is written in the stars, 
though perfectly cognizant of it, occurred in Los Angeles, 
California, in 1906. Some instructions in astrology were 
given to Mr. L., a well-known lecturer. Mr. L.'s own 
horoscope was taken up, because a pupil will be more in- 
terested in that than in the nativity of a stranger. He is 
also enabled to check the accuracy of the interpretation 
of the signs which are given him. The horoscope revealed 
a liability to accidents and Mr. L. was shown how acci- 
dents and other events in the past figured to the time of 
occurrence. In addition, he was told that another accident 
would befall him and that it would occur on the twenty- 
first of the following July, or the seventh day after, i. e., 
on the twenty-eighth, the latter day being regarded as the 
more dangerous. He was warned against conveyances of 
any kind and the place of the threatened injury was desig- 
nated as the breast, shoulders, arms and lower part of the 
head. He was thoroughly convinced of the danger and 
promised to remain at home on that day. 

The writer went north to Seattle and a few days before 
the critical time wrote to Mr. L. and again warned him. 
Mr. L. answered that he remembered the warning and 
would act accordingly. 

The next communication in regard to the matter came 
from a mutual friend, who stated that on the 28th of July 
Mr. L. had gone to Sierra Madre on an electric car which 
had collided with a railroad train, Mr. L. sustaining in- 
juries of the exact description mentioned and also having a 
tendon cut in the left leg. 

The question was why Mr. L., having entire faith in 
the prediction, had disregarded the advice. The explana- 
tion came three months later, when he had recovered suffi- 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 163 

ciently to write. The letter said, "I thought the 28th was 
the 29th." 

There is no question in the writer's mind that this was 
a piece of "ripe" fate, impossible to escape, which was 
accurately foreshown by the stars. 

The stars may therefore be called the "Clock of Des- 
tiny." The twelve signs of the Zodiac correspond to the 
dial; the Sun and the planets to the hour hand, which 
indicates the year ; and the Moon to the minute hand, indi- 
cating the month of the year when the different items in 
the score of ripe fate allotted to each life are due to work 
themselves out. 

It cannot be sufficiently emphasized, however, that 
though there are some things that cannr' be escaped, man 
has a certain scope of free will in modifying causes already 
set going. A poet puts it thus: 

One ship sails east and another sails west 

With the self-same winds that blow. 
'Tis the set of the sail and not the gale 

Which determines the way they go. 

As the winds of the sea are the ways of fate 

As we voyage along through life, 
'Tis the act of the soul that determines the goal, 

And not the calm or the strife. 

The great point to grasp is that our present actions 
determine future conditions. 

Orthodox religionists and even those who profess no 
religion at all, often bring forward as one of their strong- 
est objections to the law of Eebirth that it is taught in 
India to the "ignorant heathen," who believe in it. If it 
is a natural law, however, there is no objection strong 
enough to invalidate it or make it inoperative. Before 
we speak of "ignorant heathen," or send missionaries to 
them, it might be well to examine our own knowledge a 



164 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

little. Educators everywhere complain of superficiality on 
the part of our students. Professor Wilbur L. Cross, of 
Yale, mentions among other startling cases of ignorance, 
the fact that in a class of forty students, not one could 
''place" Judas Iscariot I 

It would seem as though the labors of missionaries could 
profitably be diverted from "heathen" countries and from 
slum work to enlighten the college-bred individuals of our 
own country, on the principle that "charity begins at 
home," and, "as God will not let the ignorant heathen 
perish'^ it would seem better to leave him in ignorance where 
he is sure of heaven, than to enlighten him and so render 
his chances of going to hell legion. Surely, this is a case 
of "Where ignorance is bliss 'tis folly to be wise." We 
would be doing ourselves and the heathen a signal service 
hy letting him alone and looking after the ignorant Chris- 
tian nearer home. 

Moreover, to call this a heathen doctrine does not dis- 
prove it. Its assumed priority in the East is no more an 
argument against it than the accuracy of the solution of a 
mathematical problem is invalidated because we do not 
happen to like the person who first solved it. The only 
question is, is it correct ? If so, it is absolutely immaterial 
whence the solution first came. 

All other religions have been but leading up to the 
Christian religion. They were Race Eeligions and con- 
tain only in part that which Christianity has in fuller 
measure. The real Esoteric Christianity has not yet been 
taught publicly, nor will it be so taught until humanity 
has passed the materialistic stage and becomes fitted to 
receive it. The laws of Eebirth and Consequence have 
been secretly taught all the time, but, hy the direct Com- 
mand of Christ Himself, as we shall see, these two laws 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 165 

have not been publicly taught in the Western world for 
the past two thousand years. 

Wine as a Factor in Evolution. 

To understand the reason for this omission and the 
means employed to obscure these teachings, we must go 
back to the beginning of man's history and see how, for 
his good, he has been led by the Great Teacher of human- 
ity. 

In the teaching of occult science the stages of develop- 
ment on the earth are divided into periods called 
"Epochs." There have been four of these Epochs, which 
are designated as follows, respectively: The Polarian, the 
Hyperborean, the Lemurian, the Atlantean. The present 
Epoch is called the Aryan Epoch. 

In the First or Polarian Epoch, what is now humanity 
had only a dense body, as the minerals have now, hence 
he was mineral-like. 

In the Second or Hyperborean Epoch, a vital body was 
added and man-in-the-making possessed a body constituted 
as are those of plants. He was not a plant, but was plant- 
like. 

In the Third or Lemurian Epoch, he obtained his desire 
body and became constituted like the animal — an animal- 
man. 

In the Fourth or Atlantean Epoch, mind was unfolded 
and now, so far as his principles are concerned, he steps 
upon the stage of physical life as MAN. 

In the present, the Fifth or Aryan Epoch, man will in 
some degree unfold the third or lowest aspect of his three- 
fold spirit — the Ego. 

The student is requested to strongly impress upon his 



166 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

mind the emphatic statement that in the process of evolu- 
tion up to the time when man gained self-consciousness, 
absolutely nothing was left to chance. 

After gaining self-consciousness there is a certain scope 
for the exercise of man's own individual will to enable 
unfold his Divine spiritual powers. 

The great Leaders of mankind take everything into 
consideration, the food of man included. This has a 
great deal to do with his development. ^Tell me what 
you eat and I will tell you what you are'Ms not a far- 
fetched idea, but a great truth in nature. 

The man of the first Epoch was ethereal. That does 
not contradict the statement that he was mineral-like, for 
all gases are mineral. The Earth was still soft, not yet 
having solidified. In the Bible man is called Adam and 
it is said that he was made of earth. 

Cain is described as an agriculturist. He symbolizes 
the man of the Second Epoch. He had a vital body like 
the plants which sustained him. 

In the Third Epoch food was obtained from living 
animals to supplenlftt the former plant food. Milk was 
the means used for evolving the desire body, which made 
the mankind of that time animal-like. This is what is 
meant by the Bible statement that "Abel was a shepherd.'' 
It is nowhere stated that he killed animals. 

In the Fourth Epoch man had evolved beyond the ani- 
mal — he had mind. Thought breaks down nerve cells; 
kills, destroys and causes decay. Therefore the food of 
the Atlantean was, by analogy, dead carcasses. He killed 
to eat and that is why the Bible states that "Nimrod was 
a mighty hunter." Nimrod represents the man of the 
Fourth Epoch. 

In the meanwhile, man had descended deeper and deeper 



EEBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 107 

into matter. His former ethereal body formed the skel- 
eton within and had become solid. He had also lost b}' 
degrees the spiritual perception which was possessed by 
him in the earlier Epochs. Thus 'it was designed. He is 
destined to get it back at a higher stage, plus the self- 
consciousness which he did not then possess. He had, 
however, during the first four Epochs, a greater knowl- 
edge of the spiritual world. We know he did not die and 
that when one body wasted away it was like the drying 
of a leaf from the tree in the autumn — another body would 
grow to take its place. Therefore he had no real apprecia- 
tion of the opportunities and advantages of this Earth life 
of concrete existence. 

But it was necessary that he should become thoroughly 
awake to the great importance of this concrete existence, 
so that he might learn from it all that could be learned. 
So long as he felt that he was a citizen of the higher 
Worlds and knew for a certainty that physical life is but a 
small part of real existence, he did not take it seriously 
enough. He did not apply himself to the cultivation of 
the opportunities for growth w^hich are found only in the 
present phase of existence. He dallied his time away with- 
out developing the resources of the world, as do the people 
of India today, for the same reason. 

The only way in which an appreciation of concrete 
physical existence could be aroused in man was by depriv- 
ing him of the memory of his higher, spiritual existence 
for a few incarnations. Thus, during his Earth life, he 
came to hold no positive knowledge of any other than the 
one present physical life, and was in this way impelled 
to earnestly apply himself to living it. 

There had been religions previous to Christianity which 
had taught Rebirth and the law of Consequence, but the 



168 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

time had now come when it was no longer conducive 
to man's advancement that he should know this doctrine, 
and ignorance concerning it came to be regarded as a sign 
of progress. This one single life was to be made para- 
mount. Therefore we find that the Christian Eeligion, as 
publicly taught, does not embody the laws of Consequence 
and Eebirth. Nevertheless, as Christianity is the religion 
of the most advanced Eace, it must be the most advanced 
Eeligion, and because of the elimination of this doctrine 
from its public teachings, the conquest of the world of 
matter is being made by the Anglo-Saxon and Teutonic 
races, in which this phase has been carried furthest. 

As some new addition to or change in the food of man 
had been made in every Epoch to meet its conditions and 
accomplish its purposes, we now find added to the food 
(jf the previous Epochs a new article — WINE. It was 
needed on account of its benumbing effect upon the spir- 
itual principle in man, because no religion, in and of 
itself, could have made man forget his nature as a spirit 
and have caused him to think of himself as "a worm of the 
dust," or made him believe that ^Ve walk with the same 
force with which we think" — indeed, it was never in- 
tended that he should go so far as that. 

Hitherto only water had been used as a drink and in 
the ceremonies of the Temple service, but after the sub- 
mergence of Atlantis — a continent which once existed be- 
tween Europe and America, where the Atlantic Ocean now 
lies — those who escaped destruction began to cultivate 
the vine and make wine, as we find narrated in the Bible 
story of Noah. Noah symbolizes the remnant of the At- 
lantean Epoch, which became the nucleus of the Fifth 
Eace — therefore our progenitors. 

The active principle of alcohol is a "spirit" and as the 



REBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 169 

humanity of the earlier Epochs used the articles of food 
best suited to their vehicles, so this spirit was, in the Fifth 
Epoch, added to the foods previously used by evolving 
humanity. It acts upon the spirit of the Fifth Epoch 
man, temporarily paralyzing it, that it may know, esteem 
and conquer the physical world and value it at its proper 
worth. Thus man forgets, for the time being, his spir- 
itual home, clinging to this form of existence, which he 
has previously despised, with all the tenacity born of a 
feeling that this is all there is — or at least, preferring 
the certainty of this world to taking chances on a heaven 
which, in his present muddled state, he does not under- 
stand. 

Water only had been used in the Temples, but now this 
is altered. "Bacchus," a god of wine, appears and under 
his sway the most advanced nations forget that there is a 
higher life. None who offer tribute to the counterfeit 
spirit of wine or any alcoholic liquor (the product of 
fermentation and decay) can ever know anything of the 
higher Self — the true Spirit which is the very source of 
Hfe. 

All this was preparatory to the coming of Christ, and 
it is of the highest significance that His first act was to 
change "water into wine." (John ii:ll.) 

In private He taught Eebirth to His disciples. He not 
only taught them in words, but He took them "into the 
mountain." This is a mystic term meaning a place of 
Initiation. In the course of Initiation they see for them- 
selves that Eebirth is a fact, for there Elijah appeared 
before them, who, they are told, is also John the Baptist. 
Christ, in unequivocal terms, had previously told them, 
when speaking of John the Baptist, "this is Elijah who 
was for to come." He reiterates this at the transfigura- 



170 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

tion scene, saying, "Elijah has come already and they 
knew him not, but have done to him whatsoever they 
listed." And following this, it is said that "they under- 
stood He spake of John the Baptist" (Matt. xvii:12-13). 
On this occasion, and also at the time when Eebirth was 
discussed between Him and His disciples, they told Him 
that some- thought He was Elijah and others that He 
was one of the prophets who had reincarnated. He com- 
manded them to "tell no man." (Matt. xvii:9; Luke 
ix:31.) This was to be, for thousands of years, an 
esoteric teaching, to be known only among the few pio- 
neers who fitted themselves for the knowledge, pushing 
ahead to the stage of ^ development when these truths will 
again be known to man. 

That Christ taught Rebirth and also the law of Con- 
sequence is perhaps shown in no other place as clearly 
as in the case of the man who had been born blind, where 
His disciples asked, "WHio did sin, this man or his parents, 
that he was born blind?" (John ix:2). 

Had Christ not taught Eebirth and the law of Conse- 
quence, the natural answer would have been, "Nonsense! 
how could the man have sinned hefo7'e he was horn, and 
(lave brought blindness upon himself as a result?" But 
Christ does not answer in that way. He is not surprised 
at the question, nor does He treat it as being at all 
unusual, showing that it was quite in harmony with His 
teachings. He explains, "Neither hath this man sinned, 
nor his parents; but that the works of (the) God should 
be made manifest in him." 

The orthodox interpretation is that the man was born 
blind in order that Christ might have the opportunity of 
performing a miracle to show His power. It would have 
been a strange way for a God to obtain glory — capriciously 



KEBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 171 

condemning a man to many years of blindness and misery 
that He might "show off" at a future time ! We would 
consider a man who acted in such a manner a monster 
of cruelty. 

How much more logical to think that there may be 
another explanation. To impute to God conduct which, in 
a human being, we would denounce in the strongest terms, 
is surely unreasonable. 

Christ differentiates between the physically blind body 
of the man and the God within, which is the Higher Self. 

The dense body has committed no sin. The God within 
has done some deed which manifests in the particular 
affliction from which he is suffering. It is not stretching 
a point to call a man a God. Paul says, 'Tvnow ye not 
that ye are Gods?" and he refers to the human body as 
the "temple of God," the indwelling spirit. 

Finally, although most people do not remember their 
past lives, there are some who do, and all may know if 
they will live the life necessary to attain the knowledge. 
This requires great strength of character, because such 
knowledge will carry with it a knowledge of impending 
fate that may be hanging black and sinister over one, 
which will manifest in dire disaster. Xature has gra- 
ciously hidden the past and the future from us, that we 
may not be robbed of peace of mind by suffering in antici- 
pation of the pain in store for us. As we attain greater 
development we shall learn to welcome all things with 
equanimity, seeing in all troubles the result of past evil 
and feeling thankful that the obligations incurred thereby 
are being annulled, knowing that so much less stands 
between us and the day of liberation from the wheel of 
birth and death. 

When a person dies in childhood in one life, he or she 



172 ROSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

not infrequently remembers that life in the next incarna- 
tion, because children under 14 years do not journey 
around the entire life cycle, which necessitates the build- 
ing of a complete set of new vehicles. They simply pass 
into the upper Eegions of the Desire World and there 
wait for a new incarnation, which usually takes place in 
from one to twenty years after death. When they rein- 
carnate, they bring with them the old mind and desire 
body, and if we listened to the prattle of children, we 
should often be able to discover and reconstruct such 
stories as the following: 

A Eemarkable Story. 

One day in Santa Barbara, Cal., a man by the name of 
Roberts came to a trained clairvoyant who is also a lecturer 
on Theosophy and asked for help in a perplexing case. 
*Mr. Roberts had been walking in the street the previous 
day when a little three-year-old girl came up to him and 
put her arms around his knees, calling him papa. Mr. 
Roberts was indignant, thinking that someone was trying 
to father the child on him. But the mother of the child 
who came up directly, was equally put out and tried to get 
the child away. The child, however, kept on clinging 
to Mr. R., insisting that he was her father. On account 
of circumstances to be told later Mr. R. could not put 
it out of his mind, and sought out the clairvoyant, who 
accompanied him to the house of the child's parents, 
where the little girl at once ran up to Mr. R. and again 
ealled him papa. The clairvoyant, whom I will call X, 
first took the child over to the window to note whether 
the iris of the eye would expand and contract when he 
turned her to and from the light, in order to see whether 
another entity than the rightful owner was in possession 



BEBIRTH AND THE LAW OF CONSEQUENCE 173 

of the child's body, for the eye is the window of the soul 
and no "obcessing'' entity can secure control of that part. 
Mr. X. found, however, that the child was normal, and 
next proceeded to question the little one carefully. After 
patient work carried on intermittently during the after- 
noon, so as not to tire the child, this is the story she told : 

She had lived with her papa, Mr. Eoberts, and another 
mamma in a little house that stood all alone, where no 
other house could be seen; there was a little brook close 
to the house where some flowers grew (and here she ran 
out and brought in some "pussy-willows'') and there was 
a plank across the brook which she was cautioned against 
crossing, for fear she might fall into the brook. One day 
her papa had left her mother and herself and had not 
returned. When their supply of food was exhausted her 
mamma lay down on the bed and became so still. At last 
she said quaintly, "then I also died, but I didn't die. I 
came here." 

Mr. Eoberts next told his story. Eighteen years before 
he lived in London, where his father was a brewer. He 
fell in love with their servant girl. His father objected, 
so he eloped with her to Australia after they had first 
been married. Here he went out into the bush and cleared 
a little farm, where he erected a small cabin by a brook, 
just as described by the little girl. A daughter was born 
to them there, and when she was about two years old he 
left the house one morning and went to a clearing some 
distance from the house, and while there a man with a 
rifle came up to him, saying that he arrested him in the 
name of the law for a bank robbery committed on the 
night Mr. R. had left England. The officer had tracked 
him here, thinking him the criminal. Mr. E. begged to 
be allowed to go to his wife and child, but, thinking this 



174 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

a ruse to entrap him into the hands of confederates, the 
officer refused and drove him to the coast at the point of 
the gun. He was taken to England and tried and his in- 
nocence proven. 

First then did the authorities take heed of his constant 
ravings about his wife and child, whom he knew must 
starve in .that wild and lonely country. An expedition 
was sent out to the cabin, when it was found that only the 
skeletons of the wife and child remained. Mr. Eoberts' 
father had died in the meantime, and though he had 
disinherited Mr. E., his brothers divided with him and he 
came to America a broken man. 

He then produced photographs of himself and his wife, 
and at the suggestion of Mr. X. they were mixed with a 
number of other photographs and shown to the little girl, 
who unhesitatingly picked out the photographs of both 
her alleged parents, although the photograph shown was 
very different from the present appearance of Mr. Eoberts. 



PART II. 



Cosmogenesis and, Anthropogenesis 



CHAPTER V. 
The Eelation of Man to God. 

IN the preceding chapters we have been considering 
man in relation to three of the five Worlds which 
form the field of his evolution. We have partly de- 
scribed these W^orlds and noted the different vehicles of 
consciousness by means of which he is correlated to them. 
We have studied his relation to the other three king- 
doms — mineral, plant and animal — noting the difference 
in vehicles, and consequent difference in consciousness, 
between man and each of these kingdoms. We have fol- 
lowed man through one life cycle in the three Worlds 
and have examined the operation of the twin laws of 
Consequence and Rebirth in their bearing upon the evolu- 
tion of man. 

In order to understand further details as to the prog- 
ress of man, it now becomes necessary to study his relation 
to the Grand Architect of the Universe — to God and to 
the Hierarchies of Celestial Beings which stand upon the 
many different rungs of the Jacob's ladder of attainment 
that stretches from man to God and beyond. 

This is a task of the utmost difficulty, rendered still 
more so by the indefinite conceptions of God which exist 
in the minds of the majority of the readers of literature 
dealing with this subject. It is true that names, in and 
of themselves, are not important, but it matters greatly 
that we know what we mean by a name; otherwise misun- 

177 



Pi^^rd^m t. 



Ut Cosmic PlMie 




Tth Cosmic Plague include sdll belovjo 
tkis line, the sever? worlds b«»n^ 
Svbdivi^iops ©^ it. 

"UJil 



1 Bf?fe JJUorld ol God 

lUisciom 



yXjoci 5 o| oHier ^oUb 



^divity 




2'^hc UJorld o\ ViP^irt^pirih 



5^he lUorldoj- Divine t)pirit 



4I5he Ulorld o|- Li^e ^ptrit 



5^hc lUoridol' ^hou^ht 



(olShe \Uorld o| lD€5i»»€ 



,T^he Phvt;c<N\\Uorld 



THE RELATION OF MAN TO GOD 179 

derstanding will result, and if a common nomenclature is 
not agreed upon by writers and teachers, the present con- 
fusion will be worse confounded. When the name ^*God" 
is used it is always uncertain whether The Absolute, The 
One Existence, is meant; or The Supreme Being, Who is 
the Great xA.rchitect of the Universe; or God, Who is the 
Architect of our Solar System. 

The division of the Godhead into "Father," "Son" and 
"Holy Ghost" is also confusing. Although the Beings 
designated by these names are immeasurably above man 
and worthy of all the reverence and worship he is capable 
of rendering to his highest conceptions of Divinity, yet 
They are different from one another in actual fact. 

Diagrams 6 and 12 will perhaps make the subject clear. 
It must be kept in mind that the Worlds and Cosmic 
Planes are not one above another in space, but that the 
seven Cosmic Planes inter-penetrate each other and all the 
seven Worlds. They are states of spirit-matter, permeating 
one another, so that God and the other great Beings who 
are mentioned are not far away in space. They pervade 
every part of their own realms and realms of greater 
density than their own. They are all present in our world 
and are actually and de facto "nearer than hands and 
feet." It is a literal truth when we say "in Him we live 
and move and have our being," for none of us could 
exist outside these great Intelligences Who pervade and 
sustain our world with Their Life. 

It has been shown that the Ether ic Eegion extends 
beyond the atmosphere of our dense Earth; that the De- 
sire World extends out into space further than the Etheric 
Eegion: also that the World of Thought extends further 
into inter-planetary Space than either of the others. Of 
course, the Worlds of rarer substance occupy a larger space 



180 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

than the denser World, which has crystallized and con- 
densed, thus occupying less space. 

The same principle is operative in the Cosmic planes. 
The densest of them is the seventh (counting from the 
top downward). It is represented in the diagram as 
larger than any of the others, the reason being that it 
is the plane with which we are most intimately concerned, 
and it was desired to indicate its principal subdivisions. 
In reality, however, it occupies less space than any of the 
other Cosmic Planes, although it must be borne in mind 
that, even with this camparatively restrictive qualification 
as to its extent, it is still immeasurably vast, far beyond 
the utmost power of the human mind to conceive, com- 
prising within its limits millions of Solar Systems similar 
to our own, which are the fields for the evolution of many 
^ades of beings of approximately our own status. 

Of the six Cosmic Planes above our own we know 
nothing, save that we are told they are the fields of 
activity of great Hierarchies of Beings of indescribable 
splendor. 

Proceeding from our Physical World to the inner and 
finer Worlds and up through the Cosmic Planes, we find 
that God, the Architect of our Solar System, the Source 
and Goal of our existence, is found in the highest division 
of the seventh Cosmic Plane. This is His World. 

His Realm includes the systems of evolution carried on 
in the other planets which belong to our system — Uranus, 
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Earth, Venus, Mercury, and their 
satellites. 

The great Spiritual Intelligences designated as the 
Planetary Spirits, which guide these evolutions, are called 
the "Seven Spirits before the Throne." They are His 
Ministers, each presiding over a certain department of the 
Kingdom of God — which is our Solar System. The Sun 



THE KELATION OF MAN TO GOD 181 

is also the field of evolution of the most exalted Beings 
in our Cosmos. They alone can endure and advance by 
means of the terrific solar vibrations. The Sun is the 
nearest approacli we have to a visible symbol of God, 
yet it is but a veil for That which is behind. What That 
is cannot be uttered publicly. 

When we try to discover the origin of the Architect of 
our Solar System, we find that we must pass to the highest 
of the seven Cosmic Planes. We are then in the Realm 
of The Supreme Being, Who emanated from The Absolute. 

The Absolute is beyond comprehension. No expression 
nor simile which we are capable of conceiving can possibly 
convey any adequate idea. Manifestation implies limita- 
tion. Therefore, we may at best characterize The Abso- 
lute as Boundless Being; as the Root of Existence. 

From the Root of Existence — The Absolute — proceeds 
the Supreme Being, at the dawn of manifestation. This 
is THE ONE. 

In the first chapter of John this Great Being is called 
God. From this Supreme Being emanates The Word, the 
Creative Fiat "without whom was not anything made/' 
and this Word is the alone-begotten Son, born of His 
Father (the Supreme Being) before all worlds — but posi- 
tively not Christ. Grand and glorious as is Christ, tower- 
ing high above mere human nature. He is not this Exalted 
Being. Truly "the Word was made flesh," but not in the 
limited sense of the flesh of one body, but the flesh of all 
that is, in this and millions of other Solar Systems. 

The First Aspect of the Supreme Being may be char- 
acterized as POWER. From this proceeds the Second 
Aspect, THE WORD; and from both of these proceeds the 
Third Aspect, MOTION. 

From this threefold Supreme Being proceed the seven 



Ig2 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTIOK 

Great Logoi. They contain within Themselves all the 
great Hierarchies which differentiate more and more as 
They diffuse through the various Cosmic Planes. (See 
diagram 6.) There are forty-nine Hierarchies on the sec- 
ond Cosmic Plane ; on the third there are 343 Hierarchies. 
Each of these is capable of septenary divisions and subdi- 
visions, so" that in the lowest Cosmic Plane, where the 
Solar Systems manifest, the number of divisions and sub- 
divisions are almost infinite. 

In the Highest World of the seventh. Cosmic Plane 
dwells the God of our Solar System and the Gods of all 
other Solar Systems in the Universe. These great Beings 
are also threefold in manifestation, like The Supreme 
Being. Their three aspects are Will, Wisdom and Activity. 

Each of the seven Planetary Spirits which proceed 
'from God and have charge of the evolution of life on one 
of the seven planets, is also threefold and differentiates 
within itself Creative Hierarchies which go through a 
septenary evolution. The evolution carried on by one 
Planetary Spirit differs from the methods of development 
inaugurated by each of the others. 

It may be further stated that, at least in the particular 
planetary scheme to which we belong, the entities farthest 
evolved in the earliest stages, who had reached a high 
stage of perfection in previous evolutions, assume the func- 
tions of the original Planetary Spirit and continue the 
evolution, the original Planetary Spirit withdrawing from 
active participation, but guiding its Regents. 

The foregoing is the teaching relative to all the Solar 
Systems, but coming down to the particular System to 
which we belong, the following is the teaching which the 
sufficiently trained Seer can obtain for himself by per- 
sonal investigation of the memory of nature. 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Scheme of Evolution. 
The Beginning. 

IN harmony with the Hermetic axiom "As above, so 
below'^ and vice versa. Solar Systems are born, die 
and come to birth anew in cycles of activity and rest, 
as does man. 

There is a constant flaming out and dying down of 
activity in every department of nature, corresponding to 
the alternations of ebb and flow, day and night, summer 
and winter, life and death. 

In the beginning of a Day of Manifestation it is taught 
that a certain Great Being (designated in the Western 
World by the name of God, but by other names in other 
parts of the earth) limits Himself to a certain portion 
of space, in which He elects to create a Solar System 
for the evolution of added self-consciousness. (See dia- 
gram 6.) 

He includes in His own Being hosts of glorious Hier- 
archies of, to us, immeasurable spiritual power and splen- 
dor. They are the fruitage of past manifestations of this 
same Being and also other Intelligences, in descending 
degrees of development down to such as have not reached 
a stage of consciousness as high as our present humanity, 
and therefore these latter will not be able to finish their 
evolution in this System. In God — this great collective 

183 



184 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Being — there are contained lesser beings of every grade of 
intelligence and stage of consciousness, from omniscience 
to an unconsciousness deeper than that of the deepest 
trance condition. 

During the period of manifestation with which we are 
concerned, these various grades of beings are working to 
acquire more experience than they possessed at the begin- 
ning of this period of existence. Those who, in previous 
manifestations, have attained to the highest degree of 
development work on those who have not yet evolved any 
consciousness. They induce in them a stage of self-con- 
sciousness from which they can take up further work 
themselves. Those who had started their evolution in a 
former Day of Manifestation, but had not progressed far 
at the close, now take up their task again, just as we take 
jip our daily work in the morning where we left off the 
previous night. 

All the different Beings, however, do not take up their 
evolution at the early stages of a new manifestation. Some 
must wait until those who precede them have made the 
conditions which are necessary for their further develop- 
ment. There are no instantaneous processes in nature. 
All is an exceedingly slow unfolding, a development which, 
though so exceedingly slow, is yet absolutely certain to 
attain ultimate perfection. Just as there are progressive 
stages in the human life — childhood, youth, manhood or 
womanhood, and old age — so in the macrocosm there are 
different stages corresponding to these various periods of 
the microcosmic life. 

A child cannot take up the duties of fatherhood or 
motherhood. Its undeveloped mental and physical con- 
dition render it incapable of doing such work. The same 
is true of the less evolved beings in the beginning of mani- 



THE SCHEME OF EVOLUTION 185 

festation. They must wait until the higher evolved have 
made the proper conditions for them. The lower the 
grade of the intelligence of the evolving being, the more 
it is dependent upon outside help. 

At the Beginning, then, the highest Beings — those who 
are the farthest evolved — work upon those who have the 
greatest degree of unconsciousness. Later, they turn them 
over to some of the less evolved entities, who are then 
able to carry the work a little further. At last self-con- 
sciousness is awakened. The evolving life has become 
Man. 

From the point where the self-conscious individual ego 
has come into being he must go on and expand his con- 
sciousness without outside help. Experience and thought 
are then to take the place of outside teachers and the 
glory, power and splendor he may attain are limitless. 

The period of time devoted to the attainment of self- 
consciousness and to the building of the vehicles through 
which the spirit in man manifests, is called "Involution." 

The subsequent period of existence, during which the 
individual human being develops self -consciousness into 
divine omniscience, is called "Evolution." 

The Force within the evolving being which makes evolu- 
tion what it is and not a mere unfoldment of latent ger- 
minal possibilities ; which makes the evolution of each indi- 
vidual differ from that of every other; which provides the 
element of originality and gives scope to the creative 
ability which the evolving being is to cultivate that he 
may become a God — that Force is called "Genius," and, as 
previously explained, its manifestation is "Epigenesis." 

Many of the advanced philosophies of modern times 
recognize involution and evolution. Science reco^mizes 
only the latter, because it (Science) deals only with the 



186 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Form side of manifestation. Involution belongs to the 
Life side; but the most advanced scientists regard Epi- 
genesis as a demonstrable fact. The Eosicrucian Cosmo- 
Conception combines all three as necessary to full under- 
standing of the past, present and future development of 
the System to which we belong. 

The Worlds. 

We might use a homely instance to illustrate the build- 
ing of a Cosmos. Suppose a man wants . to establish a 
home in which to live. He first selects a suitable location 
and then proceeds to build a house, dividing it into various 
rooms to serve certain purposes. He makes a kitchen, 
dining-room, bedrooms and bathroom, and furnishes them 
all to suit the special purpose they are intended to serve. 
^ When God desires to create. He seeks out an appropriate 
place in space, which He fills with His aura, permeating 
every atom of the Cosmic Eoot-substance of that particular 
portion of space with His Life, thus awakening the activ- 
ity latent within every t/iseparate atom. 

This Cosmic Eoot-substance is an expression of the 
negative pole of the Universal Spirit, while the great 
Creative Being we call God (of whom we, as spirits, are 
part) is an expression of the positive energy of the same 
Universal Absolute Spirit. From the work of one upon 
the other, all that we see about us in the Physical World 
has resulted. The oceans, the Earth, everything we see 
manifesting as mineral, plant, animal and human forms 
— all are crystallized space, emanated from this negative 
Spirit-substance, which alone existed at the dawn of Being. 
As surely as the hard and flinty house of the snail is the 
solidified juices of its soft body, so surely all forms are 
crystallizations around the negative pole of Spirit. 



THE SCHEME OF EVOLtJTION 187 

God draws from the Cosmic Eoot-substance outside His 
immediate sphere; thus the substance within the nascent 
cosmos becomes denser than it is in Universal space, be- 
tween Solar Systems. 

When God has thus prepared the material for His 
Habitation, He next sets it in order. Every part of the 
system is pervaded by His consciousness, but a different 
modification of that consciousness in each part or divi- 
sion. The Cosmic Eoot-substance is set in varying rates 
of vibration and is therefore differently constituted in its 
various divisions, or regions. 

The above is the manner in which the Worlds come into 
being and are fitted to serve different purposes in the evo- 
lutionary scheme, the same as the various rooms in the 
house are fitted to serve the purposes of everyday life in 
the Physical World. 

We have already seen that there are seven Worlds. These 
W^orlds have each a different "measure" and rate of vibra- 
tion. In the densest World (the Physical) the measure of 
vibration, though in the case of light-waves reaching a 
rate of hundreds of millions per second, is nevertheless in- 
finitesimal when compared to the rapidity of the vibration 
in the Desire World, which is next to the Physical. To 
get some conception of the meaning and rapidity of vibra- 
tion, perhaps the easiest way is to watch the heat vibrations 
rising from a very hot stove, or from a steam radiator 
near a window. 

It must be borne constantly in mind that these Worlds 
are not separated by space or distance, as is the earth 
from the other planets. They are states of matter, of vary- 
ing density and vibration, as are the solids, liquids and 
gases of our Physical World. These Worlds are not in- 
stantaneously created at the beginning of a Day of Mani- 



188 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

festation, nor do they last -until the end; but as a spider 
spins its web thread by thread, so God differentiates one 
after another of the Worlds within Himself, as the neces- 
sity arises for new conditions in the scheme of evolution 
in which He is engaged. Thus have all the seven Worlds 
been gradually differentiated as they are at present. 

The highest Worlds are created first, and as involution 
is to slowly carry the life into denser and denser matter 
for the building of forms, the finer Worlds gradually con- 
dense and new Worlds are differentiated within God to 
furnish the necessary links between Himself and the 
Worlds which have consolidated. In due time the point 
of greatest density, the nadir of materiality, is reached. 
From that point the life begins to ascend into higher 
Worlds, as evolution proceeds. That leaves the denser 
.Worlds depopulated, one by one. When the purpose has 
been served for which a particular World was created, God 
ends its existence, which has become superfluous, by ceas- 
ing within Himself the particular activity which brought 
into being and sustained that World, 

The highest (finest, rarest, most ethereal) Worlds are 
the first created and the last eliminated, while the three 
densest Worlds, in which our present phase of evolution is 
carried on, are but comparatively evanescent phenomena 
incident to the spirit^s dip into matter. 

The Seven Periods. 

The evolutionary scheme is carried through these five 
Worlds in seven great Periods of Manifestation, during 
which the virgin spirit, or evolving life, becomes first, 
man — then, a God. 

At the beginning of Manifestation God differentiates 
within (not from) Himself these virgin spirits, as sparks 



THE SCHEME OF EVOLUTION 189 

from a Flame, of the same nature, capable of being fanned 
into Flames themselves. Evolution is the fanning process 
which is to accomplish that end. In the virgin spirits are 
enfolded all the possibilities of their Divine Father, in- 
cluding the germ of independent Will, which makes them 
capable of originating new phases, not latent in it. The 
latent possibilities are transformed into dynamic powers 
and available faculties during evolution, while the inde- 
pendent Will institutes new and original departures — or 
Epigenesis. 

Prior to the beginning of the pilgrimage through mat- 
ter the virgin spirit is in the World of Virgin Spirits, the 
next to the highest of the seven Worlds. It has Divine 
Consciousness, but not iS'eZf-consciousness. That, Soul- 
power, and the Creative Mind, are faculties or powers 
attained to by evolution. 

When the virgin spirit is immersed in* the World of 
Divine Spirit, it is blinded and rendered utterly uncon- 
scious by that matter. It is as oblivious to outside condi- 
tions as is man when in the deepest trance. This state 
of unconsciousness prevails during the first period. 

In the Second Period it rises to the dreamless sleep 
state ; in the Third Period is reaches the dream stage, and 
in the middle of the Fourth Period, at which we have now 
arrived, the full waking consciousness of man is attained. 
This is a consciousness pertaining to only the lowest one 
of the seven Worlds. During the remaining half of this 
Period, and then entire three remaining Periods, man 
must expand his consciousness so as to include all of the 
six Worlds above this Physical W^orld. 

When man passed through these Worlds in his descent 
his energies were directed by higher Beings, who assisted 
him to turn his unconscious energy inward for the building 



190 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of proper vehicles. At last, when he was far enough ad- 
vanced and equipped with the threefold body as a necessary 
instrument, these higher Beings "opened his eyes" and 
turned his gaze outward upon the Chemical Eegion of the 
Physical World, that his energies might conquer it. 

When he has fitted himself by his work in the Chemical 
Eegion, his .next step in progress will be towards an ex- 
pansion in consciousness that will include the Etheric 
Eegion; then the Desire World, etc., etc. 

In the Eosicrucian terminology, the names of the seven 
Periods are as follows: 



1. The Saturn Period. 

2. The Sun Period. ^ 

3. The Moon Period. 

4. The Earth Period. 
"5. The Jupiter Period. 

6. The Venus Period. 

7. The Vulcan Period. 



These periods are suc- 
cessive Eebirths of our 
Earth. 



It must not be thought that the above-mentioned Periods 
have anything to do with the planets which move in their 
orbits around the sun in company with the earth. In fact, 
it cannot be too emphatically stated that there is no con- 
nection whatever between these planets and the Periods. 
The Periods are simply past, present or future incarnations 
of our Earth, "conditions" through which it has passed, 
is now passing, or will pass in the future. 

The three first mentioned Periods (the Saturn, Sun and 
Moon Periods) have been passed through. We are now in 
the fourth, or Earth Period. When this Earth Period of 
our Globe has been completed, we and it shall pass in 
turn through the Jupiter, Venus and Vulcan conditions 
before the great septenary Day of Manifestation comes to 



THE SCHEME OF EVOLUTION 191 

an end, when all that now is will once more be merged in 
the Absolute for a period of rest and assimilation of the 
fruits of our evolution, to re-emerge for further and higher 
development at the dawn of another Great Day. 

The three and one-half Periods already behind us have 
been spent in gaining our present vehicles and conscious- 
ness. The remaining three and one-half Periods will be 
devoted to perfecting these different vehicles and expanding 
our consciousness into something akin to omniscience. 

The journey made by the virgin spirit from unconscious- 
ness to omniscience, unfolding its latent possibilities into 
a kinetic energy, is a process of marvelous complexity and 
only the roughest outline will at first be given. As we 
progress in our present study, however, more details will be 
filled in, until the picture is as complete as the writer is 
capable of making it. The attention of the student is 
called to the definition of terms that are given as new 
ideas are being presented. He is earnestly importuned to 
familiarize himself with them, as the intention is to sim- 
plify the matter by using only one familiar English name 
for the same idea throughout the work. The name will be 
as descriptive as possible of the idea to be conveyed, in 
hope that thereby much of the confusion arising from a 
multiplex terminology may be avoided. By paying strict 
attention to definition of terms, it should not be too diffi- 
cult for any person of average intelligence to acquire a 
knowledge of at least th^ outlines of the scheme of 
evolution. 

That such a knowledge is of the utmost importance will, 
we think, be conceded by every intelligent individual. We 
live in this world, governed by the laws of nature. Under 
these laws we must live and work, and we are powerless 
to change them. If we know them and intelligently co- 



193 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

operate with them, these nature-forces become most valu- 
able servants, e. g., electricity and the expansive force of 
steam. If, on the other hand, we do not understand them 
and in our ignorance work contrary to them, they become 
most dangerous enemies, capable of terrible destruction. 

Therefore, the more we know of the working methods of 
nature, which latter is but the visible sjrmbol of the in- 
visible God, the better able we shall be to take advantage 
of the opportunities it offers for growth and power; for 
emancipation from bondage and for elevation to mastery. 



CHAPTER VII. 
The Path of Evolution. 

AWOED of warning in regard to diagrams used for 
purposes of illustration may not be out of place. 
The student should remember that anything that is 
reduced into another dimension can never be accurate. The 
picture of a house would mean little or nothing to us if 
we had never seen a house. In that case we would see in 
the picture only lines and blotches. It would convey no 
meaning to us. Diagrams used to illustrate superphysical 
ifiatters are much less true representations of the reality, 
for the simple reason that in the case of the picture, the 
three-dimensional house is only reduced to two dimensions, 
while in the case of diagrams of the Periods, Worlds and 
Globes, the realities possess from four to seven dimensions, 
and the diagrams of two dimensions by which it is endeav- 
ored to represent them are thus so much further removed 
from the possibility of correctly portraying them. We 
must constantly bear in mind that these Worlds inter-pene- 
trate; that the Globes inter-penetrate, and that the way 
they are shown in the diagram is analogous to taking all 
the wheels of a watch and laying them side by side in order 
to show how the watch keeps time. If these diagrams are 
to be of any use to the student they must be spiritually 
conceived. Otherwise they will be confusing instead of 
enlightening. 

194 



THE PATH OF EVOLUTION 195 

Eevolutions and Cosmic Nights. 

The Saturn Period is the first of the seven Periods, and 
at this early stage the virgin spirits take their first step 
towards the evolution of Consciousness and Form. By 
reference to diagram 7 it will be seen that the evolutionary 
impulse travels seven times around the seven Globes, A, B, 
C, D, E, F and G, the arrows showing the direction. 

First, a part of the evolution is accomplished on Globe 
A, situated in the World of Divine Spirit, the rarest of the 
Hve Worlds which form our field of evolution. Then, 
gradually the evolving life is transferred to Globe B, which 
is located in the somewhat denser World of Life Spirit. 
Here another stage of evolution is passed through. In due 
time the evolving life is ready to enter the arena on Globe 
C, which is situated in and formed of the yet denser sub- 
stance of the Eegion of Abstract Thought. After learning 
the lessons peculiar to that stage of existence, the life 
wave travels onward to Globe D, which is located in and 
formed of the substance of the Eegion of Concrete Thought. 
This is the densest degree of matter reached by the life 
wave during the Saturn Period. 

From this point the life wave is carried upward again 
to Globe E, which is situated in the Eegion of Abstract 
Thought, as is Globe -C, yet the conditions are not the same 
as on Globe C. This is the Involutionary stage, and the 
substance of the Worlds is getting denser all the time. 
The tendency in everything is to become denser and more 
solid as time goes on; also, as the path of evolution is a 
spiral, it will be clear that, though the same points are 
gone over, the conditions are never the same, but are 
on a higher and more advanced plane. 

When the work on Globe E has been completed, the 



196 EOSLCRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

next step is taken on Globe F, which is situated in the 
World of Life Spirit, the same as Globe B; thence it 
mounts to Globe G. When the work there is done, the 
life wave has traveled once around all the seven Globes; 
once down and up through the four respective Worlds. 
This journey of the life wave is called a Revolution, and 
seven Revolutions make one Period. During one Period 
the life wave travels seven times down and up through the 
four Worlds. 

When the life wave has traveled its full complement of 
seven times around the seven Globes, completing the seven 
Revolutions, the first Day of Creation closes and there fol- 
lows a Cosmic Night ^ of rest and assimilation, after which 
the Sun Period dawns. 

Like the night of sleep between two days of human life 
and the interval of rest between two earth lives, this Cosmic 
Night of rest after the completion of the Saturn Period 
is not a time of passive repose, but a season of preparation 
for the activity to be unfolded in the coming Sun Period, 
where man-in-the-making is to take a further dip into 
matter. Therefore, new Globes are necessary, the positions 
of which in the seven Worlds are different from those occu- 
pied by the Worlds of the Saturn Period. The providing 
of these new Globes, and other subjective activities, occupy 
the evolving spirits during the interval between Periods — 
the Cosmic Night. The manner of procedure is as follows : 

When the life wave has left Globe A in the Saturn 
Period for the last time, the Globe begins to slowly disin- 
tegrate. The forces which built it are transferred from 
the World of Divine Spirit (where Globe A is located 
during the Saturn Period) to the World of Life Spirit 
(where Globe A is located during the Sun Period). This 
is shown on diagram 8. 







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198 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

When the life wave has left Globe B in the Saturn 
Period for the last time, it also commences to disintegrate, 
and the forces thereof, like the seed-atom of a human 
vehicle, are used as a nucleus for Globe B in the Sun 
Period, this Globe being then located in the Eegion of 
x\bstract Thought. 

In like manner the forces of Globe C are transferred 
to the Eegion of Concrete Thought and draw upon the 
substance of that Eegion for the material wherewith to 
build a new Globe C for the coming Sun Period. Globe D 
is similarly transmuted and placed in the Desire World. 
Globes E, F and G, in order named, are analogously trans- 
ferred. The result is (as reference to diagram 8 will show) 
that in the Sun Period all the Globes are located one step 
further down into denser matter than they were in the 
gaturn Period, so that the life wave, upon its emergence 
from the Cosmic Night of Eest intervening between the 
last activity on Globe G of the Saturn Period and the 
renewed activity on Globe A of the Sun Period iinds a new 
environment, with the opportunity thus afforded for new 
experiences. 

The life wave now circles seven times around the seven 
Globes during the Sun Period, traversing seven times down 
and up the four Worlds or Eegions in Avhich these Globes 
are located. It makes seven Eevolutions in the Sun Period, 
as it did in the Saturn Period. 

When the life wave leaves Globe A in the Sun Period 
for the last time, that Globe begins to disintegrate. Its 
forces are transferred to the denser Eegion of Abstract 
Thought, where they form a planet to be used during the 
Moon Period. In the same way, the forces of the other 
Globes are transferred and serve as nuclei for the Globes 
of the Moon Period, as shown in diagram 8, the process 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 199 

being exactly the same as when the Globes were removed 
from their locations in the Saturn Period to the positions 
they occupied during the Sun Period. Thus the Globes 
of the Moon Period are placed one step further down in 
matter than they were during the Sun Period, the lowest 
(Globe D) being situated in the Etheric Region of the 
Physical World. 

After the interim of Cosmic Night between the Sun 
Period and the Moon Period, the life wave starts its course 
on Globe A of the latter, completing in due time its seven 
Revolutions, as before. Then there is another Cosmic 
Night, during which the Globes are again transferred one 
step further down, and this time the densest Globe is 
located in the Chemical Region of the Physical World, as 
reference to diagram 8 wdll show. 

This, then, is the Earth Period and the lowest and 
densest Globe (Globe D) is our present Earth. 

The life wave here, as usual, started on Globe A, after 
the Cosmic Night succeeding the Moon Period. In the 
present Earth Period it has circled three times around the 
seven Globes and is now on Globe D, in its fourth 
Revolution. 

Here on earth and in this present fourth Revolution, the 
greatest density of matter — the nadir of materiality — was 
reached a few millions of years ago. The tendency hence- 
forth will be upward into rarer substance. During the 
three and one-half Revolutions which remain to complete 
this Period^ the condition of the Earth will gradually be- 
come more and more ethereal, and in the next — the Jupiter 
Period — Globe D will again be located in the Etheric 
Region, as it was in the Moon Period, the other Globes 
being also elevated correspondingly. 

In the Venus Period they will be located in the same 



200 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Worlds as were the Globes of the Sun Period. The Globes 
of the Vulcan Period will have the same density and be 
located in the same Worlds as were the Globes of the 
Saturn Period. This is all shown on diagram 8. 

When the life wave has completed its work in the Earth 
Period and the Cosmic Night which follows is past, it will 
go through its seven Eevolutions on the Globes of the 
Jupiter Period. Then will come the usual Cosmic Night, 
with its subjective activities ; after which the seven Eevolu- 
tions of the Venus Period; then another rest, succeeded 
by the last of the Periods of the present scheme of evolu- 
tion — the Vulcan Period. The life wave also makes its 
seven Eevolutions here, and at the end of the last Eevo- 
lution all the Globes are dissolved and the life wave is 
reabsorbed by God, for a period of time equal in duration 
to that occupied by all of the seven Periods of activity. 
God Himself then merges into the Absolute during the 
Universal Night of assimilation and preparation for an- 
other Great Day. 

Other and grander evolutions will then follow, but we 
can deal only with the seven Periods described. 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

The Work of Evolution. 
Ariadne's Thread. 

HAVING become acquainted with the Worlds, the 
Globes and the Revolutions which constitute the 
path of evolution during the seven Periods, we are 
now in a position to consider the work which is done in 
each Period, as well as the methods employed to accom- 
plish it. 

The "Ariadne's thread" which will guide us through 
the maze of Globes, Worlds, Eevolutions and Periods will 
be found when it is remembered and kept steadily in mind 
that the virgin spirits which constitute the evolving life 
wave became entirely unconscious when they commenced 
their evolutionary pilgrimage through the five Worlds of 
substance denser than the World of Virgin Spirits. The 
purpose of evolution being to make them fully conscious 
and able to master the matter of all the Worlds, therefore 
the conditions embodied in Globes, Worlds, Revolutions and 
Periods are ordered wdth that end in view. 

During the Saturn, Sun and Moon Periods and the 
past half of the present Earth Period, the virgin spirits 
have unconsciously built their different vehicles under the 
direction of exalted Beings who guided their progress, and 
have gradually awakened until they have attained the 
present state of waking consciousness. This period is 
called "Involution." 

From the present time to the end of the Vulcan Period, 

201 



302 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the virgin spirits, who are now our humanit}^, will perfect 
their vehicles and expand their consciousness in the five 
Worlds by their own efforts and genius. This period is 
called "Evolution." 

The above is the key to the understanding of what 
follows. 

A thorough comprehension of the scheme of planetary 
evolution which has been outlined in the preceding pages is 
of immense value to the student. Although some believers 
i- the laws of Consequence and Eebirth seem to think 
that the possession of such knowledge is quite non-essential 
and of little use, it is nevertheless of very great impor- 
tance to the earnest stjident of these two laws. It trains 
the mind in abstract thought and elevates it above the 
sordid things of concrete existence, helping the imagina- 
tion to soar beyond the hampering toils of self-interest. 
As stated in our study of the Desire World, Interest is the 
mainspring to action, yet, at our present stage of progress, 
Interest is generally aroused by selfishness. It is some- 
times of a very subtle nature, but it spurs to action of 
various kinds. All action inspired by Interest generates 
certain effects which act on us, and in consequence we are 
bound by action having to do with the concrete Worlds. 
But, if our minds are occupied with such subjects as 
mathematics or study of the planetary phases of evolution, 
we are in the Eegion of purely Abstract Thought, beyond 
the influence of Feeling, and the mind is directed upward 
towards the spiritual realms and liberation. When we are 
extracting cube root, or multiplying figures, or thinking of 
Periods, Revolutions, etc., we have no Feeling about it. 
We do not quarrel about twice two being four. If our 
feelings were involved we should perhaps try to make it 
five and quarrel with the one who, for personal reasons, 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 203 

said it was but three^ but in mathematics Truth is most 
clearly apparent and Feeling is eliminated. Therefore, to 
the average man, desiring to live in the feelings, mathe- 
matics is dry and uninteresting. Pythagoras taught his 
pupils to live in the World of Eternal Spirit and he de- 
manded that those who desired instruction from him should 
first study mathematics. A mind capable of understanding 
mathematics is above the average and is capable of rising 
into the World of Spirit, because it is not fettered in the 
World of Feeling and Desire. The more we accustom our- 
selves to think in terms of the Spiritual Worlds, the better 
we shall be able to rise above the illusions which surround 
us in this concrete existence, where the twin feelings. In- 
terest and Indifference, obscure the Truth and bias us, as 
the refraction of the light rays through the Earth's atmos- 
phere gives us incorrect ideas of the position of the lumi- 
nary emitting them. 

Therefore the student who wishes to know Truth; to 
enter and investigate the realms of Spirit; to free himself 
from the toils of the flesh, as rapidly as is consistent with 
safety and proper growth, is earnestly advised to study 
what follows as thoroughly as possible ; to assimilate it and 
draw mental conceptions of these Worlds, Globes and 
Periods. If he wishes to progress in this way, the study 
of mathematics and of Hinton's "The Fourth Dimension" 
are also admirable exercises in abstract thought. This 
work of Hinton's (though basically incorrect, because the 
four-dimensional Desire World cannot be actually found by 
three-dimensional methods), has opened the eyes of several 
persons who have studied it, and made them clairvoyant. 
Moreover, remembering that logic is the best teacher in any 
world, it is certain that the individual who succeeds in 
entering into the superphysical World by means of such 



204 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

studies in abstract thought, will not become confused, but 
will be able to give a good account of himself under all 
circumstances. 

A stupendous scheme is here unfolded, and as more and 
more detail is filled in^ its complexity becomes almost in- 
conceivable. Anyone capable of comprehending it will be 
well rewarded for taking the utmost pains to do so. There- 
fore, the student should read slowly, repeat often, think 
deeply and much. 

This book, particularly this chapter, cannot be read in a 
casual manner. Every sentence has weight and bearing 
upon what follows, and presupposes a knowledge of what 
precedes it. If the book is not studied thoroughly and sys- 
tematically, it will grow more and more incomprehensible 
and confusing with every page. On the other hand, if it 
ifi studied and well thought out as the student proceeds, 
it will be found that each page is illuminated by the in- 
creased knowledge gained by study of what went before. 

No work of this kind, dealing with the deepest phases of 
the Great World Mystery that the human mind, at its 
present stage of development, is capable of grasping, can 
be written in such a manner that it will be light reading. 
Yet the deepest phases now comprehensible to us are but 
the A B C of the scheme as it will be revealed to us when 
our minds have become capable of understanding more, in 
later stages of our development as Supermen. 

The Saturn Period. 

The Globes of the Saturn Period consisted of much rarer 
and finer substance than our Earth, as will be evident from 
a study of diagrams 7 and 8, which the student is advised to 
keep close at hand for frequent reference while studying 
this subject. The densest Globe of Ihat Period was located 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 205 

in the same portion of the World of Thought occupied by 
the rarest Globes of the present Period — the Eegion of 
Concrete Thought. These Globes had no consistency such 
as we can sense. "Warmth" is the only word that approxi- 
mates the idea of the ancient Saturn Period. It was dark ; 
and if a person could have entered into the space it occu- 
pied, he would have seen nothing. All about him would 
have been darkness, but he would have felt its warmth. 

To the materialist it will, of course, seem insanity to call 
such a condition a "Globe," and to assert that it was the 
field of evolution of Form and Life. Yet, when we consider 
the Nebular Theory, we can realize that the nebula must 
have been dark before it glowed with light, and that it 
must have been hot before it could become fiery. This 
heat must have been brought about by motion, and motion 
is life. 

We may say that the virgin spirits who were to evolve 
consciousness and form were embedded in this Globe, or 
perhaps better, that the whole Globe w^as composed of 
virgin spirits, as a raspberry is made of a great number 
of small raspberries. They were incorporated in the Globe, 
as the life ensouling the mineral is in our Earth. Therefore 
it is said among occult scientists that in the Saturn Period 
man went through the mineral stage. 

Outside this "warmth-Globe" — in its atmosphere, we 
might say — were the great creative Hierarchies, who were 
to help the evolving virgin spirits to develop form and 
consciousness. There were many Heierarchies, but for the 
present we shall concern ourselves with the principal ones 
only — those which did the most important work of the 
Saturn Period. 

In the Rosicrucian terminology these are called "Lords 
of the Flame," because of the brilliant luminosity of their 



206 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

bodies and their great spiritual powers. They are called 
"Thrones" in the Bible, and worked on man of their own 
free will. They were so far advanced that this evolutionary 
manifestation could give them no new experiences, and 
therefore no added wisdom, and the same may be said of 
two still higher order of Hierarchies, to be named later. 
The rest of the creative Hierarchies, in order to complete 
their own evolution, were compelled to work on, in and 
with man. 

These Lords of the Flame were outside the dark Saturn 
Globe and their bodies emitted a strong light. They, so to 
say, projected their pictures upon the surface of that 
ancient Saturn Globe,, which was so unimpressionable that 
it reflected, in a multiple or echo-like manner, everything 
that came in contact with it, giving back the images mani- 
folded. (This is told in the Greek myth wherein it is said 
that Saturn destroyed his children.) 

However, by repeated efforts during the first Kevolution, 
the Lords of the Flame succeeded in implanting in the 
evolving life the germ which has developed our present 
dense body. This germ was somewhat developed during the 
remainder of the first six Eevolutions, being given the 
capacity for developing the sense organs, particularly the 
ear. Therefore, the ear is the most highly developed organ 
we possess. It is the instrument which carries with the 
greatest accuracy the impressions of outside conditions to 
the consciousness. It is less subject to the illusions of the 
Physical World than the other sense organs. 

The consciousness of the evolving life of that Period 
was like that of the mineral of today — a state of uncon- 
sciousness similar to that attained by mediums in the 
deepest trance — yet during the first six Eevolutions, the 
evolving life worked on the germ of the dense body under 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 207 

the direction and with the help of the different creative 
Hierarchies. In the middle of the seventh Revolution the 
Lords of the Flame, Who had been inactive since They 
gave the germ of the dense body in the first Revolution, 
again became active, this time to awaken the highest spir- 
itual principle. They aroused the initial activity of the 
divine spirit in man. 

Thus, man owes his highest and lowest vehicles — the di- 
vine spirit and the dense body to the evolution of the 
Saturn Period. These, the Lords of the Flame of their own 
free will helped him to manifest, not being under the 
slightest compulsion to do so. 

The work of the various creative Hierarchies is not 
started on Globe A, at the commencement of a Period 
or a Revolution. It commences in the middle of one 
Revolution, growing in strength and reaching its highest 
efficiency in the middle of the Cosmic Night — which is 
between Revolutions, as well as between Periods. Then 
it gradually declines, as the life wave sweeps on to the 
middle of the next Revolution. 

Thus the work of the Lords of the Flame in awakening 
the germinal consciousness, was most active and efficient 
during the rest Period between the Saturn and Sun 
Periods. 

We reiterate that a Cosmic Night is not to be regarded 
as a time of inactivity. It is not inert existence, as we 
saw in the case of the individual passing from death to a 
new birth. So with the great death of all the Globes of a 
Period. It is a cessation of active manifestation, that a 
proportionately keener subjective activity may be unfolded. 

Perhaps the best idea of the nature of this subjective 
activity may be gained by observing what happens when 
a ripe fruit is buried in the ground. Fermentation and 



208 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCL±^TION 

decay of the flesh sets in, but out of that chaos comes the 
new plant, sprouting forth into the air and sunshine. 
So, when a Period is past, all is resolved into conglomerate 
chaos, . apparently incapable of being reduced to order. 
At the proper time, however, the Globes of a new Period 
are formed and made ready for occupancy as man-bearing 
Worlds. Hither the evolving life is transferred from five 
dark Globes which it traverses during the Cosmic Night, 
to commence the activities of a new creative day in an 
altered environment, prepared and externalized during the 
activities of the Cosmic Night. As the forces of fer- 
mentation in the fruit stimulate the seed and fertilize the 
soil in which it grows, so the Lords of the Flame stimu- 
lated the germ of divine spirit, particularly during the 
Cosmic Night between the Saturn and the Sun Periods, 
continuing their activities until the middle of the first 
Eevolution of the Sun Period. 

Recapitulatio:n". 

Before the activity in any Period can be started, there 
is a recapitulation of all that has been gone through 
before. Owing to the spiral path of evolution, this activity 
takes place each time on a higher scale than the stage in 
progression which it rehearses. The necessity will become 
apparent when the actual work in recapitulation is de- 
scribed. 

The first Eevolution of any Period is a recapitulation 
of the work upon the dense body in the Saturn Period, 
and is spoken of among Rosicrucians as the ^'^Saturn 
Eevolution." 

The Second Period is the Sun Period, and therefore 
the second Revolution of any Period subsequent to the 
Sun Period would be the "Sun Eevolution." 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 209 

The third Period is the Mcon Period, therefore the third 
Revolution of any subsequent Period would be a recapitu- 
lation of the work done in the Moon Period, and is called 
the "Moon E evolution." 

Not until after the recapitulatory Revolutions does the 
proper work of a Period begin. For instance, in the 
present Earth Period, we have passed through three and 
one-half Revolutions. That means that in the first, or 
Saturn Revolution of the Earth Period, the work done 
in the Saturn Period was repeated, but on an advanced 
scale* In the second, or Sun Revolution, the work of the 
Sun Period was gone through again. In the third, or 
Moon Revolution, the work of the Moon Period was re- 
peated; and it was only in the fourth — the present Revo- 
lution — that the real work of the Earth Period commenced. 

In the last of the seven Periods — the Vulcan Period- 
only the last Revolution will be concerned with real Vul- 
can work. In the preceding six Revolutions the work of 
the preceding six Periods will have been recapitulated. 

Moreover (and this will particularly help the student 
to remember), a Saturn Revolution in any Period has 
always to do with the development of some new feature of 
the dense body, because that was started in a first Revo- 
lution; and any seventh, or Vulcan Revolution, has for 
its particular work some activity in connection with the 
divine spirit, because that was started in a seventh Revo- 
lution. In the same way, we shall see that there is a con- 
nection between the different Revolutions and all the 
vehicles of man. 

The Sun Period. 

Conditions during the Sun Period differed radically 
from those of the Saturn Period. Instead of the "warmth- 



210 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Globes'^ of the latter^ the Sun Period Globes were glowing 
light-balls, of the consistency of gas. These great gas- 
balls contained all that had been evolved in the Saturn 
Period, and similarly, in the atmosphere were the creative 
Hierarchies. 

Instead of the echo-like, reflecting quality of the Sat- 
urn Period,, these Globes, to some extent, had the quality 
of absorbing and working over any sight or sound pro- 
jected against their surfaces. They, as it were, "sensed" 
things. The Earth does not seem to do this, and a ma- 
terialist would scoff at the idea, yet the occultist knows 
that the Earth feels everything on and in it. This lighter 
Globe was much more sensitive than the Earth, because 
it was not limited and bound in such hard and fast con- 
ditions of materiality as is our present habitat. 

The life, of course, was different, because no forms such 
as we know could have existed there. But life can express 
itself in forms of fiery gas as well as— in fact better 
than — in forms of hard chemical matter such as the 
present dense forms of mineral, plant, animal and man. 

As the evolving life appeared upon Globe A in the first, 
or Saturn Eevolution of the Sun Period, it was still in 
charge of the Lords of the Flame who, in the middle of 
the last Eevolution of the Saturn Period, awakened in 
man the germ of the divine spirit. 

They had previously given the germ of the dense body 
and, in the first half of the Saturn Eevolution of the Sun 
Period, were concerned with certain improvements to be 
made upon it. 

In the Sun Period the formation of the vital body was 
to be commenced, with all thereby implied of capability 
for assimilation, growth, propagation, glands, etc. 

The Lords of the Flame incorporated in the germ of 



THE WOKK OF EVOLUTION 211 

the dense body only the capability of evolving sense organs. 
At the time now under consideration it became necessary 
to change the germ in such a way as to allow of inter- 
penetration by a vital body, also capability of evolving 
glands and an alimentary canal. This was done by the 
joint action of the Lords of the Flame, who gave the 
original germ, and the Lords of Wisdom, who took charge 
of material evolution in the Sun Period. 

The Lords of Wisdom, who were not so highly evolved 
as the Lords of the Flame, worked to complete their own 
evolution; therefore they received the assistance of an 
order of exalted Beings who, like the Lords of the Flame, 
acted of their own free will. In esoteric parlance they are 
called the Cherubim. These exalted Beings did not, how- 
ever, become active in the work until it was necessary to 
awaken the germ of the second spiritual principle of our 
man-in-the-making, as the Lords of Wisdom were quite 
capable of doing the work connected with the vital body 
which was to be added to the constitution of man in the 
Sun Period, but not of awakening the second spiritual 
principle. 

When the Lords of the Flame and the Lords of Wisdom 
had, in the Saturn Revolution of the Sun Period, con- 
jointly reconstructed the germinal dense body, the Lords 
of Wisdom, in the second Revolution, started the proper 
work of the Sun Period, by radiating from their own 
bodies the germ of the vital body, making it capable of 
inter-penetrating the dense body and giving to the germ 
the capability of furthering growth and propagation and 
of exciting the sense centers of the dense body and causing 
it to move. In short, they gave, germinally, to the vital 
body all the faculties which it is now unfolding to become 
a perfect and pliable instrument for the use of the spirit. 



212 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

This work occupied the second, third, fourth and fifth 
Eevolutions of the Sun Period. In the sixth Eevolution 
the Cherubim entered and awakened the germ of the 
second aspect of the threefold spirit in man — the life- 
spirit. In the seventh and last Eevolution the newly 
awakened germ of the life spirit was linked to the ger- 
minal divine spirit, and this was still further worked 
upon. 

We remember that in the Saturn Period our conscious- 
ness was similar to the trance condition. By the activity 
of the Sun Period this was modified until it became like 
the consciousness of dreamless sleep. 

Evolution in the Sijn Period added to the constitution 
of the evolving embryonic man, the next highest and the 
next lowest of his present vehicles. As the result of the 
^aturn Period he possessed a germinal dense body and 
divine spirit. At the end of the Sun Period he possessed 
a germinal dense body, vital body, divine spirit and life 
spirit, i. e., a twofold spirit and a twofold body. 

We also note that, as the first, or Saturn Eevolution, of 
any Period is concerned with work in the dense body 
(because that was started in a first Eevolution), so the 
second, or Sun Eevolution, of any Period is concerned 
with improvements on the vital body, because it was 
started in a second Eevolution. In like manner, the sixth 
Eevolution of any Period is dedicated to some work on 
the life spirit, and any seventh Eevolution is particularly 
concerned with matters connected with the divine spirit. 

In the Saturn Period man-in-the-making went through 
a mineral stage of existence. That is to say, he had a 
dense body only in the sense as had the mineral. His 
consciousness was also similar to that of the present 
mineral. 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 213 

In the same way^ and for analogous reasons, it may be 
said that in the Sun Period man went through the plant 
existence. He had a dense body and a vital body, as 
plants have, and his consciousness, like theirs, was that 
of dreamless sleep. The student will fully grasp this 
analogy by referring to diagram 4 in the chapter on the 
four kingdoms, where the vehicles of consciousness pos- 
sessed by mineral, plant, animal and man are schematically 
shown, with the particular consciousness resulting from 
their possession in each case. 

When the Sun Period was past there came another 
Cosmic Night of assimilation, together with the sub- 
jective activity necessary before the opening of the Moon 
Period. This was equal in length to the preceding Period 
of objective manifestation. 

The Mook Period. 

As the chief characteristic feature of the dark Saturn 
Globes was described by the term "warmth," and that of 
the Sun period Globes as "light," or glowing heat, so the 
chief characteristic feature of the Globes of the Moon 
Period may be best described by the term "moisture." There 
was no air such as we know. In the center was the hot 
fiery core. Next to that, and consequent upon contact 
with the cold of outside space, there was dense mois- 
ture. By contact with the fiery central core the dense 
moisture was changed into hot steam, which rushed out- 
ward to cool, and sink again toward the center. There- 
fore the occult scientist calls the Globes of the Moon 
Period "water," and describes the atmosphere of that time 
as "fire-fog." That was the scene of the next forward 
step of the evolving life. 

The work of the Moon Period was that of acquiring the 



314 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

germ of a desire body and starting the germinal activity 
of the third aspect of the threefold spirit in man — the 
human spirit — the Ego. 

In the middle of the seventh Eevolntion of the Sun 
Period, the Lords of Wisdom took charge of the germinal 
life spirit given by the Cherubim in the sixth Eevolution 
of the Sun- Period. They did this for the purpose of 
linking it to the divine spirit. Their greatest activity in 
this work was reached in the Cosmic Night intervening 
between the Sun and the Moon Periods. In the first dawn 
of the Moon Period, as the life wave started upon its new 
pilgrimage, the Lords of Wisdom reappeared, bearing with 
them the germinal vehicles of the evolving man. In the 
first, or Saturn Eevolution of the Moon Period, they co- 
operated with the "Lords of Individuality," who had spe- 
cial charge of the material evolution of the Moon Period. 
Together they reconstructed the germ of the dense body, 
brought over from the Sun Period. This germ had un- 
folded embryonic sense organs, digestive organs, glands, 
etc., and was inter-penetrated by a budding vital body 
which diffused a certain degree of life into the embryonic 
dense body. Of course, it was not solid and visible as it 
is now, yet in a crude sort of way it was somewhat organ- 
ized and is perfectly distinguishable to the trained clair- 
voyant sight of the competent investigator who searches 
the memory of nature for scenes in that far-off past. 

In the Moon Period it was necessary to reconstruct the 
dense body to make it capable of being inter-penetrated 
by a desire body, and also capable of evolving a nervous 
system, muscle, cartilage and a rudimentary skeleton. 
This reconstruction was the work of the Saturn Eevolu- 
tion of the Moon Period. 

In the second, or Sun Eevolution, the vital body was 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 315 

also modified to render it capable of being inter-penetrated 
by a desire body, also of accommodating itself to the nerv- 
ous system, muscle, skeleton, etc. The Lords of Wisdom, 
who were the originators of the vital body, also helped the 
Lords of Individuality with this work. 

In the third Revolution the proper Moon work com- 
menced. The Lords of Individuality radiated from them- 
selves the substance which they helped the unconscious, 
evolving man to appropriate and build into a germinal de- 
sire body. They also helped him to incorporate this germ- 
inal desire body in the compound vital body and dense 
body which he already possessed. This work was carried 
on all through the third and fourth Revolutions of the 
Moon Period. 

As with the Lords of Wisdom, so with the Lords of 
Individuality; though exalted far above man, they w^orked 
on and in him to complete their own evolution. While 
they were capable of dealing with the lower vehicle, they 
were powerless in regard to the higher. They could not 
give the spiritual impulse necessary to the awakening of 
the third aspect of the threefold spirit in man. Therefore 
another class of Beings who were beyond the necessity of 
evolving in such an evolution as w^e are passing through — 
who also worked of their own free will, as did the Lords 
of the Flame and the Cherubim — came in during the 
fifth Revolution of the Moon Period, to help man. They 
are called ^'^Seraphim." They awakened the germ of the 
third aspect of the spirit — the human spirit. 

In the sixth Revolution of the Moon Period the Cheru- 
bim reappeared and co-operated with the Lords of Indi- 
viduality to link the newly acquired germ of the human 
spirit to the life spirit. 

In the seventh Revolution of the Moon Period the Lords 



216 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of the Flame again came to the aid of man, helping the 
Lords of Individuality to link the human spirit to the 
divine spirit. Thus the separate Ego — the threefold spirit 
— came into existence. 

Before the beginning of the Saturn Period the virgin 
spirits who are now man, were in the World of Virgin 
Spirits, and were "All-conscious" as God in whom (not 
from whom), they were differentiated. They were not 
''self conscious however. The attainment of that faculty 
is partly the object of evolution which plunges the virgin 
spirits into a sea of matter of gradually increasing density 
which eventually shuts it from the All-consciousness. 

Thus, in the Saturn^ Period the virgin spirits were im- 
mersed in the World of Divine Spirit and encased in the 
tiniest film of that substance which they partially pene- 
trated by the help of the Lords of Flame. 

In the Sun Period the virgin spirit was plunged into the 
denser World of Life Spirit and more effectively blinded to 
the All-consciousness by a second veil of the substance of 
the World of Life Spirit. Still, by the help of the Cheru- 
bim it partially penetrated this second veil also. The 
feeling of the Oneness of All was not lost either, for the 
World of Life Spirit is still a universal World common 
to and inter-penetrating all the planets of a Solar System., 

In the Moon Period, however, the virgin spirits take a 
further dip into the still denser matter of the Region of 
Abstract Thought and here the most opaque of its veils, 
the human spirit, is added. Henceforth the All-conscious- 
ness of the virgin spirit is lost. It can no longer penetrate 
its veils, look outwards and perceive others, so it is forced 
to turn its consciousness inwards and there it finds its self, 
as the Ego, separated and apart from all others. 

Thus the virgin spirit is encased in a threefold veil, and 



THE WOEK OF EVOLUTION 217 

as its outermost veil, the human spirit, effectively blinds 
it to the oneness of Life, it becomes the Ego by entertain- 
ing the illusion of separateness contracted during involu- 
tion. Evolution will gradually dissolve the illusion, bring 
back the All-consciousness, and Self -consciousness will have 
been added. 

Thus we see that at the close of the Moon Period man 
possessed a threefold body in varying stages of develop- 
ment; and also the germ of the threefold spirit. He had 
dense, vital, and desire bodies, and divine life and human 
spirit. All he lacked was the link to connect them. 

It has been stated that man passed through the mineral 
stage in the Saturn Period; through the plant stage in 
the Sun Period, and his pilgrimage through the condi- 
tions of the Moon Period corresponded to the phase of 
animal existence, for the same reason that the two other 
similes are applicable — he had the dense, vital, and desire 
bodies, as have our present animals, and his consciousness 
was an internal picture-consciousness, such as the lower 
animals have today. This resembles the dream conscious- 
ness of man, save that it is perfectly rational, being 
directed by the group-spirit of the animals. The student 
is again referred to diagram 4 in the chapter on the four 
kingdoms, where this is shown. 

These Moon beings were not so purely germinal as in 
the previous Periods. To the trained clairvoyant they ap- 
pear suspended by strings in the atmosphere of the fire- 
fog, as the embryo hangs from the placenta by the umbilical 
cord. Currents (common to all of them), which provided 
some sort of nourishment, flowed in and out from tLj 
atmosphere through those cords. These currents were thus, 
to some extent, similar in their function to the blood of the 
present day. The name "blood" as applied to these cur- 



218 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

rents, however, is used merely to suggest an analogy, be- 
cause the Beings of the Moon Period possessed nothing 
like our present red blood, which is one of the very latest 
acquisitions of man. 

Towards the end of the Moon Period there was a divi- 
sion of the Globe which was the field of our and other 
evolutions; which, for the sake of greater simplicity, we 
have not heretofore mentioned, but with which we shall 
presently become acqauinted. 

Part of that great Globe was so crystallized by man on 
account of his inability to keep the part which he inhabited 
in the high state of vibration maintained by the other 
beings there, and as this part became more inert, the cen- 
trifugal force of the revolving Globe sent it spinning into 
space, where it began to circle around the glowing fiery 
central portion. 

The spiritual reason for the throwing off of such crys- 
tallizations is that the highest beings on such a Globe re- 
quire for their evolution the exceedingly rapid vibrations 
of fire. They are hampered by condensation, although such 
a condition is necessary to the evolution of other and less 
advanced beings requiring lower rates of vibration. There- 
fore, when part of any Globe has been consolidated by a 
group of evolving beings to the detriment of others, th?it 
part is thrown off to exactly the proper distance from the 
central mass, so that it circles as a satellite around its 
primary. The heat vibrations which strike it are of the 
rate and strength suitable to the peculiar needs of the 
beings evolving upon that satellite. Of course, the law of 
gravitation accounts quite satisfactorily for the phenom- 
enon from a physical point of view. But there is always 
a deeper cause, that yields a more complete explanation and 
which we will find if we consider the spiritual side of 



THE WORK OF EVOLUTION 319 

things. As a physical action is but the visible manifestation 
of the invisible thought which must precede it, so is the 
throwing off of a planet from a central Sun simply the 
visible and unavoidable effect of invisible spiritual 
conditions. 

The smaller planet which was thrown off in the Moon 
Period, condensed with comparative rapidity and remained 
the field of our evolution until the end of that Period. 
It was a moon to the parent planet, circling around it as 
our Moon circles around the Earth, but it did not show 
phases as our Moon does. It revolved in such a manner 
that one-half was always light and the other always dark, 
as is the case with Venus. One of its poles was pointed 
directly towards the large fiery Globe, as one of the poles 
of A^enus points directly towards the Sun. 

On this satellite of the Moon Period there were currents 
which encircled it, as the group-spirit currents encircle the 
Earth. The Moon beings followed those currents instinct-, 
ively from the light to the dark side of this old Moon. At 
certain times of the year, when they were on the light side, 
a sort of propagation took place. We have the atavistic 
residue of those moon-travels for propagation in the migra- 
tions of the birds of passage which, to the present day, 
follow the group-spirit currents around the Earth at cer- 
tain seasons of the 3'ear, for identical purposes. Even the 
(honey) moon trips of human beings show that man him- 
self has not yet outgrown the migratory impulse in connec- 
tion with mating. 

The Moon beings at this last stage were also capable 
of giving iitterance to sounds, or cries. These were Cosmic 
sounds — not expressions of individual joy or sorrow, for 
as yet there was no individual. The development of the 
individual came later — in the Earth Period. 



220 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

At the end of the Moon Period once more came the 
interval of rest^, the Cosmic Night. The divided parts 
were dissolved and merged in the general Chaos which 
preceded the reorganization of the Globe for the Earth 
Period. 

The Lords of Wisdom had now evolved so far, that they 
were capable of taking charge as the highest creative 
Hierarchy. They were given special charge of the divine 
spirit in man during the Earth Period. 

The Lords of Individuality were also . sufficiently ad- 
vanced to work upon the spirit in man and the life spirit 
was therefore put under their charge. 

Another creative Hierarchy had special care of the three 
germs of the dense, vital, and desire bodies as they were 
evolving. They were the ones who, under direction of 
. the higher orders, actually did the principal work on these 
bodies, using the evolving life as a kind of instrument. 
This Hierarchy is called the "Lords of Form." They 
were now evolved so far that they were given charge of 
the third aspect of the spirit in man — the human spirit — 
in the coming Earth Period. 

There were twelve great Creative Hierarchies active in 
the work of evolution at the commencement of the Saturn 
Period. Two of these Hiararchies did some work to help at 
the very beginning. No information has been given as to 
what they did, nor anything about them, except that they 
helped of their own free will, and then withdrew from 
limited existence into liberation. 

Three more of the Creative Hierarchies followed them 
at the beginning of the Earth Period — the Lords of the 
Flame, the Cherubim and the Seraphim — leaving seven 
Hierarchies in active service at the time the Earth Period 



A'LIFE-GYGLE 



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the Mind asBi^lrflTtoujht 
dlio worh on New 

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222 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

began. (Diagram 9 will give a clear idea of the twelve 
Creative Hierarchies and their status). 

DIAGBAM 9. 
The Twelve Great Creative Hierarchies. 

Zodiacal Sign. Name. Status. 

1 — Aries Nameless The first and second 

2 — Taurus Nameless orders are said to have 

passed beyond the ken 
of anyone on Earth. It 
is known that they gave 
some assistance at the 
beginning of our evolu- 
tion. 
The three following orders worked 
of their own free will to help man 
during the three periods which pre- 
ceded the Earth Period. They have 
also passed to liberation: 

3 — Gemini Seraphim who, in the Moon Period, 

aroused in man-in-the- 
making the germ of the 
human spirit — the Ego. 

4 — Cancer Cherubim who, in the Sun Period, 

aroused the germ of the 
life spirit. 
5 — Leo Lords of Flame who, in the Saturn Pe- 
riod, aroused the germ 
of the divine spirit and 
gave the germ of the 
dense body. 
The following Seven Creative Hier- 
archies are active in the Earth 
Period : 

6 — Virgo Lords of Wisdom who, in the Sun Period, 

started the vital body. 

7 — Libra Lords of Individuality. . who, in the Moon Period, 

started the desire body. 

8 — Scorpio Lords of Form who have special charge 

of human evolution in 
the Earth Period. 

9 — Saggitarius . Lords of Mind the humanity of the 

Saturn Period. 

10 — Capricornus . Archangels the humanity of the 

Sun Period. 

11 — Aquarius . . . Angels the humanity of the 

Moon Period. 

12 — Pisces The Virgin Spirits who are the humanity 

of the present Earth 
Period. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Stragglers and Newcomers. 

IN" following through the preceding chapter the evolution 
of life, consciousness and form — the triple phase of 
manifestation of the virgin spirit — which is the life 
that gathers the form about itself and gains conscicmsness 
thereby, we have spoken as though there were only one 
class; as though the virgin spirits, without exception, had 
made constant and uniform progress. 

This was done for the sake of simplicity, because strag- 
glers there were, as there are in any great body or 
company. 

In school there are, every 5^ear, those who fail to reach 
the standard required for promotion into a higher grade. 
Similarly, in every Period of Evolution, there are those 
who fall behind because they have not attained the stand- 
ard necessary to pass onward to the next higher stage. 

Even so early as the Saturn Period there were some who 
failed to improve sufficiently to take the next forward step. 
At that stage the Higher Beings were working with the 
life, which was itself unconscious, but that unconscious- 
ness did not prevent the retardation of some of the virgin 
spirits who were not so pliable, nor so readily adaptable 
as others. 

In that one word "Adaptability,'' we have the great 
secret of advancement or retardation. x\ll progress depends 

223 



224 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

upon whether an evolving being is flexible, adaptable and 
pliable, so as to be able to accommodate itself to new con- 
ditions, or whether it is crystallized, set, and incapable of 
alteration. Adaptability is the quality which makes for 
progress, whether an entity is at a high or a low stage of 
evolution. Lack of it is the cause of the retardation of 
the spirit, and retrogression of the Form. This applies to 
the past, present and future, the division of the qualified 
and the unqualified thus being made with the exact and 
impersonal justice of the law of Consequence. There 
never was, nor ever shall be any arbitrary distinction made 
between the "sheep" and the "goats." 

The hardened unresponsive condition of some of the 
Saturn beings prevented the awakening of the divine 
spirit within them, therefore they remained simply min- 
eral, all they had gained being the germinal dense body. 

Thus there were two classes, or kingdoms, in the Sun 
Period, i. e., the stragglers of the Saturn Period, who 
were still mineral, and the pioneers of the Saturn Period, 
who were capable of receiving the germ of a vital body and 
becoming plant-like. 

In addition to those two kingdoms there was also a 
third — a new life wave, which was just commencing its 
activity at the beginning of the Sun Period. (That is the 
life wave which now ensouls our animals). 

The matter into which the new life wave entered, to- 
gether with the stragglers of the Saturn Period, composed 
the mineral kingdom of the Sun Period. There was, how- 
ever, a great difference between those two classes or sub- 
divisions of the second kingdom. It is possible for the 
stragglers to make a "spurt" and overtake the pioneers — 
who are now our humanity — but it is impossible for the 
new life wave of the Sun Period to do that. It will reach 



STRAGGLEES AND NEWCOMERS 226 

a stage corresponding to the human, but under very dif- 
ferent conditions. 

The division of stragglers and pioneers took place in 
the seventh Revolution of the Saturn Period, when the 
divine spirit was awakened by the Lords of the Flame. 
Then it was found that some of the evolving entities were 
in such an unresponsive, hardened condition that it was 
impossible to arouse them. They therefore remained with- 
out the spark of spirit upon which their progress depended 
and they were obliged to remain at the same level, being 
unable to follow the others in whom the spiritual spark 
was awakened. Truly, truly, all that we are or are not is 
the result of our own effort, or our own inaction. 

These stragglers and the newly arrived life wave formed 
dark sjDots in the otherwise glowing gas-sphere which was 
the densest Globe of the Sun Period, and our present Sun- 
spots are an atavistic remainder of that condition. 

In the sixth Revolution of the Sun Period the life spirit 
was awakened by the Cherubim, and again it was found 
that some who had safely passed the critical point in the 
Saturn Period, had fallen behind in the Sun Period and 
were unfit to have the second aspect of the spirit vivified. 
Thus there were another class of stragglers, who had 
lagged behind the crest-wave of evolution. 

In the seventh Revolution of the Sun Period the Lords 
of the Flame reappeared to awaken the divine spirit in 
those who failed to qualify for it at the end of the Saturn 
Period, but had attained to the point where they could 
receive the spiritual impulse in the Sun Period. The 
Lords of the Flame also awakened the germ of divine 
spirit in as many of the new life wave entities as were 
ready, but here also there were stragglers. 



226 OSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Thus at the beginning of the Moon Period there were 
the following classes: 

1 — The Pioneers who had successfully passed through the Saturn 
and the Sun Periods. They had dense and vital bodies, 
divine and life spirit germinally active. 

2 — The Stragglers of the Sun Period, who had dense and vital 
bodies, also divine spirit — all germinal. 

3 — The Stragglers of the Saturn Period, who had been promoted 
in the seventh Eevolution of the Sun Period. They had 
the germ of dense body and divine spirit. 

4 — The Pioneers of the new Life Wave, who had the same vehicles 
as class 3, but belong to a different scheme of evolution 
from ours. 

5 — The Stragglers of the new Life Wave, who had only the germ 
for the dense body. 

6 — A New Life Wave, which entered upon its evolution at the 
beginning of the Moon Period and is the life that en- 
souls our plants of the present day. 

It is necessary to remember that Nature hastens slowly. 
She makes no sudden changes in forms. To her, time is 
nothing; the attainment of perfection is everything. A 
mineral does not change to a plant at one bound, but by 
gradual, almost imperceptible degrees. A plant does not 
become an animal in a night. It requires millions of years 
to bring about the change. Thus at all times there are all 
stages and gradations to be found in nature. The Ladder 
of Being stretches without break from protoplasm to God. 

Therefore we have to deal, not with six different king- 
doms corresponding to the above six classes which entered 
the arena of evolution at the beginning of the Moon 
Period, but with three kingdoms only — mineral, plant and 
animal. 

The lowest class in the Moon Period composed the new 
life stream which there commenced its evolution. It 
formed the hardest mineral part, yet it must be borne in 
mind that it was by no means as hard as the mineral of 
the present time, but only about as dense as our wood. 



STRAGGLEES AND NEWCOMERS 227 

This statement does not contradict former ones which 
described the Moon as watery, nor does it conflict with 
diagram 8, showing the densest Globe in the Moon Period 
as located in the Etheric Eegion, which is etheric. As 
before stated, the fact that the path of evolution is spiral 
prevents any condition ever being duplicated. There are 
similarities, but never reproductions of identical conditions. 
It is not always possible to describe conditions in exact 
terms. The best available term is used to convey an idea 
of the conditions existing at the time under consideration. 

Class 5 in our list was nearly mineral, yet on account 
of having passed through and beyond the mineral condi- 
tion during the Sun Period, it had some plant charac- 
teristics. 

Class 4 was almost plant and did evolve to a plant before 
the close of the Moon Period. It was, however, more 
nearly allied to the mineral kingdom than the next two 
classes, which formed the higher kingdom. We may there- 
fore group classes 4 and 5 together, as forming a sort of 
half-step, a ^'^mineral-plant" kingdom, which composed the 
surface of the ancient planet of the Moon Period. It was 
something like our present peat, which is also a state 
between the mineral and the plant. It was soggy and wet, 
consistent with the statement that the Moon Period was 
watery. 

Thus the fourth, fifth and sixth classes composed the 
different gradations of the mineral kingdom in the Moon 
Period — the highest being nearly plant and the lowest 
the hardest mineral substance of that time. 

Classes 2 and 3 formed the plant kingdom, though they 
were both really more than plants, yet were not quite 
animal. They grew in the mineral-plant soil; they were 
stationary like plants ; yet they could not have grown in a 



228 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

purely mineral soil, as our plants do now. Good examples 
of what they were like may be found in our parasitic plants, 
which cannot grow in a purely mineral soil, but seek the 
food already specialized by a real plant or tree. 

Class 1 was composed of the pioneers of the life wave 
of virgin spirits. In the Moon Period they were going 
through a sort of animal-like existence. Yet they were 
like the animals of our time only in so far as they had the 
same vehicles and were under the control of a group- 
spirit, which included the whole human family. In ap- 
pearance they were very different from our present animals, 
as shown by the partial description given in the previous 
chapter. They did not touch the surface of the planet, 
but floated suspended by umbilical-like cords. Instead 
of lungs they had a gill-like apparatus through which they 
breathed the hot steamy "fire-fog." These features of the 
Moon existence are still recapitulated by the embryo dur- 
ing the period of gestation. At certain stages of develop- 
ment it has the gills. The Moon beings at that time had 
also the horizontal spine of the animal. 

During the Moon Period several more divisions of classes 
occurred than in the preceding periods, because there were, 
of course, stragglers who failed to keep abreast of the crest- 
wave of evolution. As a result there were, at the begin- 
ning of the Earth Period, 5 classes, some of them contain- 
ing several divisions, as diagram 10 will show. These divi- 
sions occurred at the following times and for the follow- 
ing reasons: 

In the middle of the fifth Revolution of the Moon Period, 
when the Seraphim bestowed the germ of the human spirit 
upon the pioneers who had fitted themselves to pass on; 
some were found wanting when weighed in the balance 



STRAGGLERS AND NEWCOMERS 229 

and therefore unfit to receive the spiritual impulse which 
awakened the threefold spirit. 

In the sixth Eevolution of the Moon Period the Cheru- 
bim reappeared and vivified the life spirit of those who 
had been left behind in the Sun Period but had since 
reached the necessary stage of development (Class 2 in 
our previous list), and also in those stragglers of the Sun 
Period who had not evolved a vital body during their plant 
existence in the Moon Period. (These latter were class 3 
in the previous list). 

Class 4 in the previous list had been going through a 
low stage of plant existence; nevertheless the majority of 
them had evolved the vital body sufficiently to allow of the 
awakening of the life spirit. 

Thus, the three last-named all possessed the same vehicles 
at the beginning of the Earth Period, although only the 
two first-named (classes 3a and 3b in diagram 10) belong 
to our life wave, and have a chance of even yet overtaking 
us if they pass the critical point which will come in the 
next Revolution of the Earth Period. Those who cannot 
pass that point will be held over until some future evolu- 
tion reaches a stage where they can drop in and proceed 
with their development in a new human period. They 
will be debarred from going forward with our humanity 
because it will be advanced so far beyond their status that 
it would prove a serious clog to our progress to drag them 
along. They will not be destroyed, but simply held in 
waiting for another period of evolution. 

Progression with our present wave of evolution is what 
is meant when "salvation" is spoken of in the Christian 
religion, and it is something to be earnestly sought, for 
though the "eternal damnation" of those who are not 
"saved" does not mean destruction nor endless torture, it 



230 



ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 



DIAGRAM 10 

Showing the different classes of the several life waves which are 
evolving in the four kingdoms of the earth; their status at the 
beginning of the earth period and the vehicles they then possessed; also 
their present status. 



CLASS' 



1— Pioneers of the 
Saturn. Sun and 
Moon Periods 



2— The Stragglers of 
the Moon Period... 



3— (a) The Stragglers 
of the Saturn Pe- 
riod 



(b) The Stragglers 
of the Sun Period. . 

All the 

(c) Pioneers of the 
new Sun life wave. 



4— (a) Stragglers of 
the new Sun life 



wave 



(b) Pioneers of the 
new Moon life wave 



5— (a) Stragglers of 
the new Moon life 



wave 



(b) The new life 
wave of the Earth 
Period 



VEHICLES 



Divine ) Dense ) 

Life > spirit Vital >body 
Human ) Desire 3 



Divine ) Dense 



Life 



spirit Vital >body 
) Desire ) 



Divine ) Dense ) 

> spirit > body 

Life ) Vital I 

above belong to our 
Same as 3a and 3b 



Divine spirit 
Same as 4a .. 



Dense body 



Dense body only. 



Dense body only; same as 5a. 



PRESENT STATE 



The Aryan Races 



The Mongolians. Af- 
ricans, and all lower 
Races 



Anthropoids 

life wave 
Animals 



Plant Kingdom 
Trees and perennials 



Flowers and grasses 



Mineral Kingdom 
Sand, soft soils, etc. 



Mountains, rocks, etc. 



STRAGGLERS AND NEWCOMERS 2'3l 

is nevertheless a very serious matter to be held in a state 
of inertia for inconceivable milliards of years, before a 
new evolution shall have progressed to such a stage that 
those who fail here can have an opportunity to proceed. 
The spirit is not conscious of the lapse of time, but it is 
none the less a serious loss, and there must also be a 
feeling of unhomelikeness when at last such spirits find 
themselves in a new evolution. 

So far as the present humanity is concerned, that possi- 
bility is so small as to be almost negligible. It is said, 
however, that of the total number of virgin spirits which 
started evolution in the Saturn Period, only about three- 
fifths will pass that critical point in the next Revolution 
and go on to the end. 

The greatest apprehension of occult scientists is material- 
ism, which if carried too far, not only prevents progress but 
will destroy all the seven vehicles of the virgin spirit, leav- 
ing it naked. Such an one will then have to commence at 
the very beginning of the new evolution. All the work it 
has done since the dawn of the Saturn Period will have 
been utterly wasted. For this reason, the present period 
is to our humanity, the most critical of all. Therefore 
occult scientists speak of the sixteen Paces, of which the 
Germano-Anglo-Saxon is one, as "the sixteen possibilities 
for destruction." May the reader safely pass them all, for 
their grip is worse than the retardation in the next 
Revolution. 

Speaking generally, class 5 in the foregoing list was 
given the germ of divine spirit in the seventh Revolution, 
when the Lords of Flame reappeared. Therefore they were 
the pioneers of the last life wave, which entered evolution 
in the beginning of the Moon Period. They passed their 



232 EOSICEUGIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

mineral existence there. The stragglers of that life wave 
were thus left with only the germ of a dense body. 

In addition to the above, there was also a new life wave 
(our present mineral kingdom) entering upon its evolution 
at the beginning of the Earth Period. 

At the end of the Moon Period these classes possessed 
the vehicles as they are classified in diagram 10, and started 
with them in the beginning of the Earth Period. During 
the time which has elapsed since then, the human kingdom 
has been evolving the link of mind, and has thereby 
attained full waking consciousness. The animals have 
obtained a desire body; the plants a vital body; the strag- 
glers of the life wave which entered evolution in the Moon 
Period have escaped the hard and fast conditions of rock 
formation and now their dense bodies compose our softer 
.soils; while the life wave that entered evolution here in 
the Earth Period forms the hard rocks and stones. 

Thus have the different classes obtained the vehicles 
ascribed to them in diagram 3, to which the reader is 
referred. 



CHAPTEE X. 
The Eakth Period. 

THE Globes of the Earth Period are located in the 
four densest states of matter — the Eegion of Con- 
crete Thought, the Desire World, the Etheric, and 
the Chemical Kegions (See Diagram 8). The densest Globe 
(Globe D) is our present Earth. 

When we speak of "the densest Worlds," or the '^densest 
states of matter/' the term must be taken in a relative 
sense. Otherwise it would imply a limitation in the Abso- 
lute, and that is absurd. Dense and attenuated, like up 
and down, east and west, are applicable only relatively to 
our own status or position. As there are higher, finer 
Worlds than touched by our life wave, so there are also 
denser states of matter which are the fields of evolution 
for other classes of beings. Nor must it be thought that 
these denser worlds are elsewhere in space; they inter- 
penetrate our worlds similarly as the higher Worlds inter- 
penetrate this Earth. The fancied solidity of the Earth and 
the forms we see is no bar to the passage of a denser body 
any more than our solid dense walls bar the passage of a 
human being clothed in his desire body. Neither is solidity 
synonymous with density, as illustrated by comparison of 
aluminum, a solid which is less dense than the fluidic mer- 
cury. The latter in spite of its density will evaporate or 
exude through many solids. 

This being the fourth Period, we have at present four 

233 



334 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

elements. In the Saturn Period there was but one element, 
Fire — i. e., there was warmth, or heat, which is incipient 
fire. In the second, or Sun Period, there were two ele- 
ments. Fire and Air. In the third, or Moon Period, there 
were three elements. Water being added ; and in the fourth, 
or Earth Period, was added the fourth element. Earth. 
Thus it will be seen that a new element was added for 
each Period. 

In the Jupiter Period an element of a spiritual nature 
will be added, which will unite with the speech so that 
words will invariably carry with them understanding — 
not misunderstanding, as is frequently the case now. For 
instance, when one says ^Tiouse," he may mean a cottage, 
while the hearer may get the idea of a tenement flat 
building. 

To this environment of the four elements, as specified 
above, the different classes mentioned in diagram 10 were 
brought over by the Hierarchies in charge of them. We 
remember that in the Moon Period these classes formed 
three kingdoms — animal, animal-plant and plant-mineral. 
Here on Earth, however, the conditions are such that there 
can be no large half-way classes. There must be four dis- 
tinctly different kingdoms. In this crystallized phase of 
existence the lines between them must be more sharply 
drawn than was the case in former Periods, where one king- 
dom gradually merged into the next. Therefore some of 
the classes mentioned in diagram 10 advanced one-half 
step, while others went back half a step. 

Some of the mineral-plants advanced completely into 
the plant kingdom and became the verdure of the fields. 
Others went down and became the purely mineral soil in 
which the plants grew. Of the plant-animals some ad- 
vanced into the animal kingdom, ahead of time, and those 



THE EAKTH PERIOD 235 

species have yet the colorless plant-blood, and some, like 
star-fishes, have even the five points like the petals of 
flowers. 

All of class 2 whose desire bodies could be divided into 
two parts (as was the case with all of class 1) were fitted 
to become human vehicles and were therefore advanced 
into the human group. 

We must carefully remember that in the above para- 
graphs we are dealing with Form, not with the Life which 
dwells in the Form. The instrument is graded to suit the 
life that is to dwell in it. Those of class 2, in whose 
vehicles the above mentioned division could be made were 
raised to the human kingdom, but were given the indwell- 
ing spirit at a point in time later than class 1. Hence, 
they are not now so far evolved as class 1, and are there- 
fore the lower races of mankind. 

Those whose desire bodies were incapable of division 
were put into the same division as classes 3a and 3b. They 
are our present anthropoids. These may yet overtake our 
evolution if they reach a sufficient degree of advancement 
before the critical point already mentioned, which will 
come in the middle of the fifth Eevolution. If they do not 
overtake us by that time, they will have lost touch with 
our evolution. 

It was said that man had built his threefold body by 
the help of others higher than he, but in the previous 
Period there was no co-ordinating power; the threefold 
spirit, the Ego, was separate and apart from its vehicles. 
Now the time had come to unite the spirit and the body. 

Where the desire body separated, the higher part became 
somewhat master over the lower part and over the dense 
and vital bodies. It formed a sort of animal-soul with 
which the spirit could unite by means of the link of mind. 



236 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Where there was no division of the desire body, the vehicle 
was given over to desires and passions without any check, 
and could therefore not be used as a vehicle within which 
the spirit could dwell. So it was put under the rule of a 
group-spirit which ruled it from without. It became an 
animal body, and that kind has now degenerated into the 
body of the anthropoid. 

Where there was a division of the desire body, the dense 
body gradually assumed a vertical position, thus taking 
the spine out of the horizontal currents of the Desire 
World in which the group-spirit acts upon the animal 
through the horizontal spine. The Ego could then enter, 
work in and express itself through the vertical spine and 
build the vertical larynx and brain for its adequate expres- 
sion in the dense body. A horizontal larynx is also under 
the domination of the group-spirit. While it is true that 
some animals, as the starling, raven, parrot, etc., previ- 
ously mentioned, are able^ because of the possession of a 
vertical larynx, to utter words, they cannot use them under- 
standingly. The use of words to express thought is the 
highest human privilege and can be exercised only by a 
reasoning, thinking entity like man. If the student will 
keep this in mind, it will be easier to follow the different 
steps which lead up to this result. 

The Saturn Revolution of the Earth Periods. 

This is the Revolution during which, in each Period, 
the dense body is reconstructed. This time it was given the 
ability to form a brain and become a vehicle for the germ 
of mind which was to be added later. This addition 
constituted the final reconstruction of the dense body, ren- 
dering it capable of attaining the highest degree of effi- 
ciency possible to such a vehicle. 

Unspeakable Wisdom has been employed in its construe- 



THE EARTH PERIOD 237 

tion. It is a marvel. It can never be sufficiently im- 
pressed upon the mind of the student what immeasurable 
facilities for the gaining of knowledge are contained in 
this instrument, and what a great boon it is to man; how 
much he should prize it and how thankful he should be 
to have it. 

Some examples of the perfection of construction and 
intelligent adaptability displayed in this instrument have 
previously been given, but in order to further impress this 
great truth upon the mind of the student, it might not be 
out of place to illustrate more fully this Wisdom, also the 
work of the Ego in the blood. 

It is generally known, in a vague kind of way, that the 
gastric juice acts upon the food to promote assimilation; 
but only a very few people, outside of the medical profes- 
sion, are aware that there are many different gastric Juices, 
each appropriate to the treatment of a certain kind of 
food. The researches of Pavloff, however, have established 
the fact beyond doubt, that there is one kind of juice for 
the digestion of meat, another for milk, another for acid 
fruit, etc. That fact, by the way, is the reason why all 
foods do not mix well. Milk, for instance, requires a 
gastric juice that is widely different from almost any other 
kind except that required for the digestion of starchy 
foods, and is not readily digested with any food other than 
cereals. This alone would show marvelous wisdom; that 
the Ego working subconsciously is able to select the differ- 
ent juices which are appropriate to the different kinds of 
food taken into the stomach, making each of just the right 
strength and quantity to digest the food. What makes 
the matter still more wonderful, however, is the fact that 
the gastric ""'uice is poured into the stomach in advance of 
the food. 



238 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

We do not consciously direct the process of mixing this 
fluid. The great majority of people know nothing of 
metabolism or any other phase of chemistry. So it is not 
enough to say that, as we taste what is coming, we direct 
the process by means of signals through the nervous 
system. 

When this fact of the selection of juices was first proven, 
scientists were sorely puzzled trying to learn how the right 
kind of juice was selected and caused to enter the stomach 
before the food. They thought the signal was given along 
the nervous system. But it was demonstrated beyond doubt 
that the proper juice was poured into the stomach even 
though the nervous system was blocked. 

At last Starling and Bayliss, in a series of experiments 
of brilliant ingenuity, proved that infinitesimal parts of 
the food are taken up by the blood as soon as the food en- 
ters the mouth, go in advance to the digestive glands and 
cause a flow of the proper juice. 

This again, is only the physical side of the phenomena. 
To understand the whole wonderful connection, we must 
turn to occult science. That alone explains why the signal 
is carried by the blood. 

The blood is one of the highest expressions of the vital 
body. The Ego guides and controls its dense instrument 
by means of the blood, therefore the blood is also the means 
used to act on the nervous system. During some of the 
time that digestion is going on, it acts partially through the 
nervous system, but (especially at the commencement of 
the digestive process) it acts directly upon the stomach. 
When, during scientific experiments, the nerves were 
blocked, the direct way through the blood was still open and 
the Ego derived the necessary information in that way. 

It will also be seen that the blood is driven to wherever 



THE EARTH PERIOD 239 

the Ego unfolds the greatest activity at any time. If a 
situation requires sudden thought and action, the blood is 
promptly driven to the head. If a heavy meal is to be 
digested the greater portion of the blood leaves the head, 
centering around the digestive organs. The Ego concen- 
trates its efforts on ridding the body of the useless food. 
Therefore a man connot think well after a heavy meal. He 
is sleepy because so much blood has left the brain that the 
residue is insufficient to carry on the functions necessary 
to full waking consciousness, besides, nearly all the vital 
fluid or solar energy specialized by the spleen is absorbed 
by the blood rushing through that organ after a meal in 
greater volume than between meals. Thus the rest of the 
system is also deprived of the vital fluid in a large measure 
during digestion. It is the Ego that drives the blood into 
the brain. Whenever the body goes to sleep, the blood 
leaves the brain, as may be proven by placing a man on a 
balanced table. When he goes to sleep, the table will 
invariably tip towards the feet, raising the head. During 
coition the blood is centered in the sex organs, etc. All 
these examples tend to prove that during the waking hours, 
the Ego works in and controls the dense body by means of 
the blood. The larger portion of the total amount goes to 
that part of the body where at any given time, the Ego 
unfolds any particular activity. 

The reconstruction of the dense body in the Saturn 
Revolution of the Earth Period was for the purpose of 
rendering it capable of inter-penetration by the mind. It 
gave the first impulse to the building of the frontal part of 
the brain ; also the incipient division in the nervous system 
which has since become apparent in its subdivisions — the 
voluntary and the sympathetic. The latter was the only 
one provided for in the Moon Period. The voluntary nerv- 



240 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

ous system (which has transformed the dense body from a 
mere automaton acting under stimuli from without^ to an 
extraordinary adaptable instrument capable of being guided 
and controlled by an Ego from within) was not added 
until the present Earth Period. 

The principal part of this reconstructive work was done 
by the Lords of Form. They are the Creative Hierarchy 
which is most active in the Earth Period, as were the Lords 
of Flame in the Saturn Period, the Lords of Wisdom in 
the Sun Period, and the Lords of Individuality in the 
Moon Period. 

The Earth Period is pre-eminently the Period of Form, 
for here the form or matter side of evolution reaches its 
greatest and most pronounced state. Here spirit is more 
helpless and suppressed and Form is the most dominant 
factor — hence the prominence of the Lords of Form. 

The Sun Eevolution of the Earth Peeiod. 

During this Eevolution the vital body was reconstructed 
to accommodate the germinal mind. The vital body was 
fashioned more in the likeness of the dense body, so that 
it could become fitted for use as the densest vehicle during 
the Jupiter Period, when the dense body will have become 
spiritualized — as explained later in this work. 

The Angels, who were the humanity of the Moon Period, 
were aided by the Lords of Form in this reconstruction. 
The organization of the vital body is now next in efficiency 
to that of the dense body. Some writers on this subject call 
the former a link, and contend that it is simply the mold 
of the dense body, and not a separate vehicle. 

While not desiring to criticise, and while admitting that 
this contention appears to be justified by the fact that man, 
at his present stage of evolution, cannot ordinarily use the 



THE EARTH PERIOD 241 

vital body as a separate vehicle — because it always remains 
with the dense body and to extract it in toto would cause 
the death of the dense body — yet there was a time when it 
was not so firmly incorporated with the latter, as we shall 
presently see. 

During those epochs of our Earth's history which have 
already been mentioned as the Lemurian and the Atlantean, 
man was involuntarily clairvoyant, and it was precisely 
this looseness of connection between the dense and the 
vital bodies that made him so. (The Initiators of that 
time helped the candidate to loosen the connection still 
further, as in the voluntary clairvoyant). 

Since then the vital body has become much more firmly 
interwoven with the dense body in the majority of people, 
but in all sensitives it is loose. It is that looseness which 
constitutes the difference between the psychic and the 
ordinary person who is unconscious of all but the vibrations 
contacted by means of the five senses. All human beings 
have to pass through this period of close connection of the 
vehicles and experience the consequent limitation of con- 
sciousness. There are, therefore, two classes of sensitives, 
those who have not become firmly enmeshed in matter, 
such as the majority of the Hindoos, the Indians, etc., who 
possess a certain low grade of clairvoyance, or are sensitive 
to the sounds of nature, and those who are in the vanguard 
of evolution. The latter are emerging from the acme of 
materiality, and are again divisible into two kinds, one of 
which develops in a passive, weak-willed manner. By 
the help of others they re-awaken the solar plexus or other 
organs in connection with the involuntary nervous system. 
These are therefore involuntary clairvoyants, mediums who 
have no control of their faculty. They have retrograded. 
The other kind is made up of those who by their own wills, 



243 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

unfold the vibratory powers of organs now connected with 
the voluntary nervous system and thus become trained 
occultists, controlling their own bodies and exercising the 
clairvoyant faculty as they will to do. They are called 
voluntary or trained clairvoyants. 

In the Jupiter Period man will function in his vital 
body as he now does in his dense body ; and as no develop- 
ment in nature is sudden, the process of separating the 
two bodies has already commenced. The vital body will 
then attain a much higher degree of efficiency than the 
dense body of today. As it is a much more pliable vehicle, 
the spirit will then be able to use it in a manner impossible 
of realization in the .case of the present dense vehicle. 
The Moon Eevolution of the Earth Period. 

Here the Moon Period was recapitulated, and much the 
same conditions prevailed (on an advanced scale) as ob- 
tained on Globe D of that Period. There was the same 
kind of fire-fog atmosphere; the same fiery core; the same 
division of the Globe into two parts, in order to allow the 
more highly evolved beings a chance to progress at the 
proper rate and pace, which it would be impossible for 
beings such as our humanity to equal. 

In that Revolution the Archangels (humanity of the 
Sun Period) and the Lords of Form took charge of the 
reconstruction of the desire body, but they were not alone 
in that work. When the separation of the Globe into two 
parts occurred, there was a similar division in the desire 
bodies of some of the evolving beings. We have already 
noted that where this division took place, the form was 
ready to become the vehicle of an mdwellng spirit, and in 
order to further this purpose the Lords of Mind (humanity 
of the Saturn Period) took possession of the higher part 
of the desire body and implanted in it the separate self- 



THE EAKTH PERIOD 243 

hood, without which the present man with all his glorious 
possibilities, could never have existed. 

Thus in the latter part of the Moon Eevolution the 
first germ of separate personality was implanted in the 
higher part of the desire bod}^ by the Lords of Mind. 

The Archangels were active in the lower part of the 
desire body, giving it the purely animal desires. They 
also worked in the desire bodies where there was no divi- 
sion. Some of these were to become the vehicles of the 
animal group-spirits, which work on them from without, 
but do not enter wholly into the animal forms, as the indi- 
vidual spirit does into the human body. 

The desire body was reconstructed to render it capable of 
being inter-penetrated by the germinal mind which, during 
the Earth Period, will be implanted in all those desire 
bodies in which it was possible to make the before men- 
tioned division. 

As has been previously explained, the desire body is an 
unorganized ovoid, holding the dense body as a dark spot 
witliin its center, as the white of an egg surrounds the yolk. 
There are a number of sense centers in the ovoid, which 
have appeared since the beginning of the Earth Period. In 
the average human being these centers appear merely as 
eddies in a current and are not now awake, hence his 
desire body is of no use to him as a separate vehicle of 
consciousness, but when awakened they look like whirling 
vortices. 

Eest Periods Between" Eevolutions. 

Hitherto we have noted only the Cosmic Nights between 
Periods. We saw that there was an interval of rest and 
assimilation between the Saturn and the Sun Periods; 
another Cosmic Night between the Sun and the Moon 



344 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Periods, etc. But in addition to these, there are also rests 
between the Eevolutions. 

We might liken the Periods to the different incarnations 
of man; the Cosmic Nights between them to the intervals 
between deaths and new births ; and the rest between Eevo- 
lutions would then be analogous to the rest of sleep between 
two daySv 

When a Cosmic Night sets in, all manifested things are 
resolved into a homogeneous mass — the Cosmos again 
becomes Chaos. 

This periodical return of matter to primordial substance 
is what makes it possible for the spirit to evolve. Were the 
crystallizing process of active manifestation to continue 
indefinitely it would offer an insurmountable barrier to the 
progress of Spirit. Every time matter has crystallized to 
such a degree that it becomes too hard for the spirit to 
work in, the latter withdraws to recuperate its exhausted 
energy, on the same principle that a power-drill which has 
stopped when boring in hard metals, is withdrawn to 
regain its momentum. It is then able to bore its way 
further into the metal. 

Freed from the crystallizing energy of the evolving spir- 
its, the chemical forces in matter turn cosmos to chaos by 
restoring matter to its primordial state, that a new start 
may be made at the dawn of a new Day of manifestation by 
the regenerated virgin spirits. The experience gained in 
former Periods and Eevolutions enables the Spirit to build 
up to the point last reached, with comparative celerity, 
also to facilitate further progress by making such altera- 
tions as its cumulative experience dictates. 

Thus at the end of the Moon Eevolution of the Earth 
Period, all the Globes and all life returned to Chaos, re- 



THE EARTH PERIOD 245 

emerging therefrom at the beginning of the fourth Eevo- 
lution. 

The Fourth Eevolution of the Earth Period. 

In the exceeding complexity of the scheme of evolution, 
there are always spirals within spirals, ad infinitum. So 
it will not be surprising to learn that in every Eevolution 
the work of recapitulation and rest is applied to the differ- 
ent Globes. When the life wave reappeared on Globe A 
in this Eevolution, it went through the development of the 
Saturn period; then after a rest which, however, did not 
involve the complete destruction of the Globe, but only an 
alteration, it appeared on Globe B, where the work of the 
Sun Period was recapitulated. Then after a rest, the life 
wave passed on to Globe C, and the work of the Moon 
Period was repeated. Finally, the life wave arrived on 
Globe D, which is our Earth, and not until then did the 
proper work of the Earth Period begin. 

Even then, the spiral within the spiral precluded its 
beginning immediately on the arrival of the life wave 
from Globe C, for the bestowal of the germ of mind did 
not actually take place until the fourth Epoch, the three 
first Epochs being still further recapitulations of the Sat- 
urn, Sun and Moon Periods, but always on a higher scale. 



CHAPTER XI. 

The Genesis and Evolution of Our Solar System. 

Chaos. 

IN the previous pages nothing has been said about our 
Solar System, and of the different planets which 
compose it, because it was not until the Earth Period 
was reached that the present differentiation was made. 
The Earth Period is the acme of diversification, and 
although we have been speaking of only one class of virgin 
spirits — those who, in the strictest and most limited sense, 
are concerned with the Earth evolution — there are in real- 
• ity seven "Pays" or streams of life, all pursuing different 
evolutions, yet all belonging to the original class of virgin 
spirits to which our humanity belongs. 

In the previous Periods all of these different sub-classes 
or Rays found a suitable environment for their evolution 
on the same planet. But, in the Earth Period, conditions 
became such that in order to provide for each class the 
degree of heat and the vibration necessary for its particu- 
lar phase of evolution, they were segregated on different 
planets, at varying distances from the Sun — the central 
source of life. This is the raison d'etre of our System 
and all the other Solar Systems in the Universe. 

Before proceeding with the description of the evolution 
of our humanity on the Earth after its separation from 
the central Sun, it is necessary for the maintenance of 
sequential order in the description to explain the differen- 
tiation which scattered the planets of our System in space. 

246 



GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 247 

Active manifestation — particularly in the Physical 
World — depends upon separateness ; upon the limitation 
of life by form. But during the interim between Periods 
and Revolutions the marked distinction between form and 
life ceases. This applies not only to man and the lower 
kingdoms, but to the Worlds and Globes which are the 
basis of form for the evolving life. Only the seed-atoms 
and the nuclei or centers of the World-Globes remain — 
all else is one homogeneous substance. There is but one 
Spirit pervading space. Life and Form, its positive and 
negative poles, are one. 

This state of things w^as what Greek mythology de- 
scribed as *'Chaos." The ancient Norsemen and the Teu- 
tonic mythology call it "Ginnungagap," which was bounded 
upon the northern side by the cold and foggy "Niflheim" 
— the land of mist and fog — and upon the south side by 
the fire "Muspelheim." When heat and c^ld entered the 
space which was occupied by Chaos or Ginnungagap, they 
caused the crystallization of the visible universe. 

The Bible also gives one the idea of infinite space pre- 
ceding the activity of Spirit. 

In our present materialistic period we have unfortunate- 
ly lost the idea of all that lies behind that word Space. 
We are so accustomed to speaking of "empty" space, or 
the "great void" of space, that we have entirely lost the 
grand and holy significance of the word, and are thus in- 
capable of feeling the reverence that this idea of Space 
and Chaos should inspire in our breasts. 

To the Eosicrucians, as to any occult school, there is no 
such thing as empty or void space. To them space is Spirit 
in its attenuated form; while matter is crystallized space 
or Spirit. Spirit in manifestation is dual; that which we 
see as Form is the negative in an i Testation of Spirit — crys- 



248 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEtTION 

tallized and inert. The positive pole of Spirit manifests 
as Life, galvanizing the negative Form into action, but 
both Life and Form originated in Spirit, Space, Chaos! 

To get an idea from everyday life which will illustrate, 
we may take the hatching of an egg. The egg is filled 
with a moderately viscous fluid. This fluid, or moisture, 
is subjected to heat, and out of the soft, fluidic substance 
comes a living chick, with hard bones and comparatively 
hard flesh, and with down that has a comparatively hard 
quill, etc. 

When a living chick can come out of the inert fluid of 
an egg without the addition of any hardening substance 
from outside, is it .a far-fetched idea to claim that the 
universe is crystallized Space or Spirit ? There is no doubt 
that the claim will seem foolish to many; but this book 
is not for the purpose of convincing the world at large 
that these things are. It is intended to aid those who 
inherently feel that these things must be and to help them 
to see the light upon this great World-mystery, which the 
writer has been permitted to behold. The special object 
at present is to show that Spirit is active all the time — in 
one way during Manifestation, and in another during 
Chaos. 

Modern science would sneer at the idea that life could 
exist upon a Globe which is in the process of formation. 
That is because science cannot dissociate Life and Form 
and cannot conceive of Form except as solid and tangible 
— cognizable by one of our five physical senses. 

The occult scientist, in accordance with, the above defini- 
tions of Life and Form, holds that Life may exist inde- 
pendently of Concrete Form; may have Forms not per- 
ceptible to our present limited senses, and amenable to 



GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 249 

none of the laws which apply to this present concrete state 
of matter. 

It is true that the Nebular Theory holds that all ex- 
istence (which is to say all Form^ the Worlds in Space 
and whatever Forms there may be upon them) has come 
from the fiery nebula ; but it does not recognize the further 
fact insisted upon by occult science — that the fiery nebula 
is Spirit. It does not admit that the whole atmosphere 
around us, the space between the Avorlds, is Spirit and 
that there is a constant interchange going on all the 
time — Form dissolving into Space, and Space crystallizing 
into Form. 

Chaos is not a state which has existed in the past and 
has now entirely disappeared. It is all around us at 
the present moment. Were it not that old forms — ^having 
outlived their usefulness — are constantly being resolved 
back into that Chaos, which is also as constantly giving 
birth to new forms, there could be no progress; the work 
of evolution would cease and stagnation would prevent 
the possibility of advancement. 

It is axiomatic that "The oftener we die, the better we 
live.'' The Poet-Initiate, Geothe, says: 

Who has not this — 
Ever dying and bringing to birth — 
Will aye remain a sorry guest 
Upon this dismal earth. 

and Paul says, "I die daily." 

Therefore, as students of occult science, it is necessary 
to realize that even during active manifestation, it is 
Chaos that is the basis of all progress. Our life during 
Chaos is based upon our life in active manifestation, and 
vice versa, i. e., what we are able to achieve during active 
manifestation, and the ability to progress at all, is the 



250 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

result of the existence in Chaos. The interim between 
Periods and Eevolutions is in reality much more impor- 
tant to the growth of the soul than concrete existence, 
though the latter is the basis of the former and therefore 
cannot be dispensed with. The importance of the Chaotic 
interim lies in the fact that during that period the evolv- 
ing entities of all classes are so closely united that they 
are really one; consequently those which are of lower 
development during manifestation are in closest contact 
with the more highly evolved, thus experiencing and ben- 
efiting by a much higher vibration than their own. This 
enables them to live over and assimilate their past experi- 
ences in a manner impossible when hampered by Form. 

We have seen the benefit to the spirit in man from the 
interim between death and a new birth. There the form 
still exists, though much more attenuated than the dense 
body; but in the Cosmic Night and intervals of rest 
between Periods and Eevolutions, where there is perfect 
freedom from form, the beneficial results of past experi- 
ences can be much more effectively assimilated. 

We have a word which was originally coined to convey 
the idea of the state of things between manifestations. 
This word, however, has been used in a material sense to 
such an extent that it has lost its primal significance. 
That word is Gas. 

It may be thought that this is a very old word, which 
has nearly always existed as a synonym for a state of 
matter lighter than liquids, but such is not the case. The 
word was first used in "Physica," a work which appeared 
in 1633, the author of it being Commenius, a Eosicrueian. 

Commenius did not call himself a Eosicrueian; no true 
Brother does so public^. Only the Eosicrueian knows the 
brother Eosicrueian. Not even the most intimate friends 



GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 251 

or relatives know of a man's connection with the order. 
Those only who are Initiates themselves know the writers 
of the past who were Eosicrucians, because ever through 
their works shine the unmistakable words, phrases and 
signs indicative of the deep meaning that remains hidden 
from the non-Initiate. The Rosicrucian Fellowship is 
composed of students of the teachings of the Order, which 
are now given publicly, because the world's intelligence is 
growing to the necessary point of comprehension. This 
work is one of the first few fragments of the Rosicrucian 
knowledge being publicly given out. All that has been 
printed as such, previous to the last few years, has been 
the work of either charlatans or traitors. 

Rosicrucians such as Paracelsus, Commenius, Bacon, 
Hellmond and others gave hints in their works and in- 
fluenced others. The great controversy concerning the 
authorship of Shakespeare (which has to no avail blunted 
so many goose-quills and wasted so much good ink that 
might have served useful ends) would never have arisen 
had it been known that the similarity in Shakespeare and 
Bacon is due to the fact that both were influenced by the 
same Initiate, who also influenced Jacob Boehme and a 
pastor of Ingolstadt, Jacobus Baldus, who lived subsequent 
to the death of the Bard of Avon, and wrote Latin 1)^10 
verse. If the first poem of Jacobus Baldus is read with a 
certain key, it will be found that by reading down and up 
the lines, the following sentence will appear: "Hitherto 
I have spoken from across the sea by means of the drama ; 
now I will express myself in lyrics." 

In his "Physica," Commenius, the Rosicrucian, wrote: 
"Ad hue spiritum incognitum Gas voco," i. e., "This 
hitherto unknown Spirit I call Gas." Further on in the 
same work he says, "This vapor which I have called Gas 



252 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

is not far removed from the Chaos the ancients spoke of.'' 
We must learn to think of Chaos as the Spirit of God, 
which pervades every part of infinity; it will then be seen 
in its true light, as the occult maxim puts it: "Chaos is 
the seed-ground of the Cosmos/' and we shall no longer 
wonder how "something can come out of nothing/' be- 
cause Space is not synonymous with "nothing." It holds 
within itself the germs of all that exists during a physical 
manifestation, yet not quite all; for by the wedding of 
Chaos with Cosmos there is something new brought forth 
each time, which did not exist before ; something that was 
not foreshown and latent. The name of that something 
is Genius — the cause of Epigenesis. 

It appears in all kingdoms. It is the expression of the 
progressive spirit in man, animal and plant. Chaos is 
therefore a holy name; a name that signifies the Cause of 
all we see in Nature and inspires a feeling of devotion 
in every tried, true and trained occultist. He regards the 
visible sense world as a revelation of the hidden potentiali- 
ties of the Chaos. 

The Birth of the Planets. 

To express himself in, the dense physical world, it was 
necessary for man to evolve a suitable dense body. In a 
world like this he must have a body with limbs, organs, 
and a muscular system by means of which to move about; 
also a brain to direct and co-ordinate his movements. If 
the conditions had been different the body would have been 
modified accordingly. 

It is necessary for all beings, high or low in the scale 
of existence, to possess vehicles for expression in any par- 
ticular world in which they may wish to manifest. Even 
the Seven Spirits before The Throne must possess these 



GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 253 

necessary vehicles, which of course are differently condi- 
tioned for each of Them. Collectively, They are God, and 
make up the Triune Godhead, and He manifests in a dif- 
ferent way through each of Them. 

There is no contradiction in ascribing different num- 
bers to God. We do not sin against the "oneness" of light 
because we distinguish three primary colors into which it 
divides itself. The white light of the Sun contains the 
seven colors of the spectrum. The occultist sees even 
twelve colors, there being five between red and violet — 
going one way around the circle — in addition to the red, 
orange, j^ellow, green, etc., of the visible spectrum. Four 
of these colors are quite indescribable, but the fifth — the 
middle one of the five — is similar to the tint of a new- 
blown peach-blossom. It is in fact the color of the vital 
body. Trained clairvoyants who describe it as "bluish- 
grey," or "reddish-grey," etc., are trying to describe a 
color that has no equivalent in the physical world; and 
they are therefore compelled to use the nearest descriptive 
terms afforded by our language. 

Perhaps Color will enable us to realize the oneness of 
God with the Seven Spirits before The Throne better than 
anything else. We will therefore turn to diagram 11. 

We see here a white triangle looming up from a dark 
background. White is synthetic, containing all colors 
within itself, as God contains within Himself all things 
in the Solar System. 

Within the white triangle are a blue, a red and a yellow 
circle. All other colors are simply combinations of these 
three primary colors. These circles correspond to the 
three aspects of God, which are without beginning, and 
end in God, though externalized only during active mani- 
festation. 



« 

s 

§ 






Q 

u. 

U!) 




GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 255 

When these three colors are interblended, as shown in 
the diagram, there appear four additional colors, the three 
secondary colors — each due to the blending of two primary 
colors — and one color (indigo) which contains the entire 
gamut of colors, making in all the seven colors of the 
spectrum. These colors represent the Seven Spirits before 
The Throne. The colors are different, as are also the 
Seven Spirits, each having a different mission in the King- 
dom of God — our Solar System. 

The seven planets circling around the Sun are the dense 
bodies of the Seven Planetary Genii. Their names are: 
Uranus with one satellite, Saturn with eight moons, 
Jupiter with four moons. Mars with two moons, the Earth 
and its moon, Venus and Mercury. 

Bodies are always found to suit the purpose they are 
made to serve, hence the dense bodies of the Seven Plan- 
etary Spirits are spherical, that form being best adapted 
the enormous velocity with which they travel through 
space. The Earth, for instance, travels about 66,000 miles 
per hour in its orbit. 

Man's body had a different shape in the past from that 
of the present, and from that which it will have in the 
future. During involution it was approximately spherical, 
as it still is during ante-natal life, because the intra- 
uterine development is a recapitulation of past stages of 
evolution. At that stage the organism developed the 
sphere, because during involution man's energies were di- 
rected inward, upon the building of his own vehicles, as 
the embryo develops within the sphere of the uterus. 

Man's dense and vital bodies have straightened, but his 
higher vehicles still retain their ovoid form. In the dense 
body, the co-ordinating and governing brain is situated at 



256 EOSICRtrCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

one extremity. This is the most unfavorable position 
for such an orgen. Too long a time is required for im- 
pulses to travel from one extremity to the other — -from the 
brain to the feet, or for impacts on the feet to reach 
the brain. In cases of burns, for instance, science has 
demonstrated that valuable time is lost, the skin being 
blistered before a message can be carried from the injured 
place to the brain and back again. 

This inefficiency would be greatly lessened if the brain 
were in the center of the body. Sensations and the re- 
sponses thereto could be more quickly received a^^.d trans- 
mitted. In the spherical planets the Planetary Spirit di- 
rects from the center the movements of its vehicle. In 
future man will bend over, as shown in digram 12. He 
will become a sphere, directing his energies outward, be- 
cause a spherical form affords the greatest facility for 
motion in all directions, and indeed, for combination of 
simultaneous motions. 

The Eosicrucian Cosmo-Conception teaches that there 
is a further evolution in store for planets. 

When the beings upon a planet have evolved to a suffi- 
cient degree, the planet becomes a Sun — the fixed center 
of a Solar System. When the beings upon it have evolved 
to a still greater degree, and consequently it has reached 
its maximum of brilliancy, it breaks up into a Zodiac, 
becoming, so to speak, the womb for a new Sola-^ System. 

Thus the great hosts of Divine Beings who, until then, 
were confined within that Sun, gain freedom of action 
upon a great number of stars, whence they can affect in 
different ways the system which grows up within their 
sphere of influence. The planets, or man-bearing worlds, 
within the Zodiac are constantly being worked upon by 



358 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

these forces, but in various ways, according to the stage 
they have reached in evolution. 

Our Sun could not become a Sun until it had sent out 
from itself all the beings who were not sufficiently evolved 
to endure the high rate of vibration and the great lumi- 
nosity of .the beings who were qualified for that evolution. 
All the beings upon the different planets would have been 
consumed had they remained in the Sun. 

This visible Sun, however, though it is the place of 
evolution for Beings vastly above man, is not by any 
means the Father of the other planets, as material science 
supposes. On the contrary, it is itself an emanation from 
the Central Sun, which is the invisible source of all that 
IS in our Solar System. Our visible Sun is but the 
mirror in which are reflected the rays of energy from the 
Spiritual Sun. The real Sun is as invisible as the real 
Man. 

Uranus was the first planet to be thrown off from the 
nebula when its differentiation began in Ghaos, at the 
dawn of the Earth Period. There was no light but the 
dim light of the Zodiac. The life that left with Uranus 
is of a rather backward strain and is said to evolve very, 
very slowly. 

Saturn was next differentiated. It is the field of action 
for the life which is at the stage of evolution correspond- 
ing to the Saturn Period. This planet was differentiated 
before the ignition of the nebula and (like all nebulae 
when passing through their Saturn Period of evolution) 
was not a source of light, but a reflector. 

Jupiter was differentiated shortly afterwards, when the 
nebula had become ignited. The heat of Jupiter is not so 
great a* that of the Sun, Venus or Mercury, but on account 
of its immense bulk, it is capable of retaining its heat and 



GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOLAR SYSTEM 259 

thus remains a suitable field of evolution for very ad- 
vanced beings. It corresponds to the stage which will be 
reached by the Earth itself in the Jupiter Period. 

Mars is a mystery, and only a limited amount of in- 
formation may be given out. We may say, however, that 
the life on Mars is of a very backward nature and that the 
so-called "canals" are not excavations in the surface of 
the planet. They are currents such as, during the Atlan- 
tean Epoch, spread over our planet, and the remains of 
which can still be observed in the Aurora Borealis and the 
Aurora Australis. The shifting of the Martian "canals," 
noted by astronomers, is thus accounted for. If they were 
really canals, they could not possibly shift, but currents 
emanating from the Poles of ]\Iars may do so. 

The Earth, including the Moon, was next set out from 
the Sun, and later Venus and Mercury. These and Mars 
will be referred to later, in connection with the evolution 
of man on the earth, and need not be further considered at 
this time. 

When a planet has Moons it indicates that there are 
some beings in the life wave evolving on that planet who 
are too backward to share in the evolution of the main 
life wave, and they have therefore been set out from the 
planet to prevent them from hindering the progress of 
the pioneers. Such is the case with the beings inhabiting 
our Moon. In the case of Jupiter it is thought probable 
that the inhabitants of three of its four moons will even- 
tually be able to rejoin the life on the parent planet, but 
it is regarded as certain that the fourth Moon is an eighth 
sphere, like our own Moon, where retrogression and dis- 
integration of the already acquired vehicle will result from 
too close adherence to material existence upon the part 



260 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of the evolving beings who have brought themselves to that 
deplorable end. 

Neptune and its satellites do not properly belong to 
our Solar System. The other planets — or rather their 
Spirits — exercise an influence over the whole of humanity, 
but the influence of Neptune is restricted to one particular 
class — the astrologers. The writer, for instance, has sev- 
eral times felt its compelling influence in a marked way. 



CHAPTEE XII. 

Evolution on the Earth. 
The Polar ian Epoch. 

WHILE the material which now forms the Earth 
was yet a part of the Sun, it was, of course, in a 
fiery condition; but as the fire does not burn 
spirit, our human evolution commenced at once, being 
confined particularly to the Polar Eegion of the Sun. 

The highest evolved beings which were to become 
human were the first to appear. The substances which 
now form the Earth were all molten, and the atmosphere 
was gaseous, yet man recapitulated his mineral stage anew. 

From that attenuated chemical substance of the sun man 
himself built his first mineral body, assisted by the Lords 
of Form. If this statement is objected to on the ground 
that man could not build unconsciously, the case of the 
mother can be cited in answer. Is she conscious of build- 
ing the body of the babe in her womb? yet surely no one 
will say that she has nothing to do with it! The only 
difference is that the mother builds unconsciously for the 
babe; and man built unconsciously for himself. 

Man's first dense body did not even remotely resemble 
his present splendidly organized vehicle. That has been 
evolved only in the cou.rse of myriads of years. The first 
dense body was a large, baggy object with an opening at 
the top, from which an organ projected. This was a kind 

261 



262 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of organ of orientation and direction. In the course of 
time the dense body drew more closely together and con- 
densed. If it came too close to places of greater heat than 
it could endure, it disintegrated. In time the organ grew 
sensitive to the condition that threatened destruction and 
the dense body automatically moved to a safer place. 

This organ has now degenerated into what is called the 
pineal gland. Sometimes it is called "the third eye/' but 
that is a misnomer, because it never was an eye, but rather 
the localized organ for the sensing of heat and cold, which 
faculty is now distributed over the entire dense body. 
During the Polarian Epoch this sense was thus localized, 
as the sense of sight is now in the eye, and that of hearing 
in the ear. The extension of the sense of feeling since that 
time indicates the manner in which the entire body will 
be improved, so that at some future time any part of it 
will be able to perceive all things. The senses of sight and 
hearing will be extended over the entire body, as the sense 
of feeling is now. Then man will be all eyes and ears. 
Specialized sense organs indicate limitation. Sense per- 
ception by the whole is comparative perfection. 

At the early stage of which we are now speaking there 
was a kind of propagation. These immense baggy crea- 
tures divided in halves in a manner similar to the division 
of cells by fission, but the separated portions would not 
grow, each remaining -only half as large as the original 
form. 

The Hyperborean Epoch. 

At different points on the fiery globe there began in 
the course of time the formation of crust-islands in a sea 
of fire. 

The Lords of Form appeared, with the Angels (human- 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 263 

ity of the Moon Period), and clothed man's dense form 
with a vital body. Those baggy bodies then began to in- 
crease in size by drawing to themselves material from the 
outside by osmosis, as it were. When they propagated, it 
was no longer by dividing into halves, but into two un- 
equal parts. Both parts grew until each had attained the 
original size of the parent. 

As the Polarian Epoch was really a recapitulation of 
the Saturn Period, it may be said that during that time 
man passed through the mineral state; he had the same 
veliicle — the dense body — and a consciousness similar to 
the trance state. For analogous reasons, the plant state 
was passed through in the Hyperborean Epoch, as man 
had a dense and a vital body and a dreamless-sleep-con- 
sciousness. 

Man began his evolution of the Earth after Mars had 
been thrown off from the central mass, and that which is 
now the Earth was yet undetached from the Sun; but at 
the close of the Hyperborean Epoch the incrustation had 
progressed so far that it had become an obstacle to the 
progress of some of the higher evolved beings in the Sun. 
The fierj^ condition also hindered the evolution of some of 
the lower grades of creatures, such as man, who at that 
stage required a denser world for his further development. 
Therefore, the part which is now the Earth was thrown 
off from the Sun at the end of the Hyperborean Epoch, 
and commenced to revolve around the parent body in a 
somewhat different orbit than at present. Shortly after- 
wards Venus and Mercury were thrown off for similar 
reasons. 

Crystallization always commences at the pole of a planet 
where motion is slow. The consolidated part gradually 
works outwards towards the equator in obedience to the 



264 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCS:PTION 

centrifugal force. If that force is stronger than the co- 
hesive tendency the consolidated mass is thrown outwards 
into space. 

At the time when the Earth-globe was separated from 
the parent mass, it included that part which is now our 
Moon. On this great globe was evolving the life-wave now 
passing through the human kingdom, also the life waves 
which entered evolution in the Sun, Moon and Earth 
Periods, and are now evolving through the animal, plant 
and mineral kingdoms. 

Mention has been made of the stragglers of various 
Periods who in later Periods were enabled to take a step 
upward in evolution. There were some, however, who did 
not take this step. They did not evolve, and were there- 
fore left further and further behind, until they became a 
drag and a hindrance to the progressive ones. It became 
necessary to get thehm out of the way, that the evolution 
of the others might not be retarded. 

In the beginning of the Lemurian Epoch, these "fail- 
ures" (note that they were failures, not merely stragglers) 
had crystallized that part of the Earth occupied by them 
to such a degree that it became as a huge cinder or clinker, 
in the otherwise soft and fiery Earth. They were a hin- 
drance and an obstruction, so they, with the part of the 
Earth they had crystallized, were thrown out into space 
beyond recall. That is the genesis of the Moon. 

The Moon~The Eighth Sphere. 

The seven Globes, A to G, inclusive, are the field of 
Evolution. The Moon is the field of Disintegration. 

If Earth had not segregated from the original Globe 
which is now the Sun, the rapidity of the vibrations would 
have disintegrated man's vehicles. He would have grown 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 265 

SO rapidly that the growth of the mushroom would seem 
slow in comparison. He would have hecome old before 
he had time to pass through youth. That such is the effect 
of too much Sun is shown by the rapidity of growth at the 
tropics, where maturity and old age are reached much 
sooner than in the north. On the other hand had the 
Moon remained with the Earth, man would have crystal- 
lized into a statue. The separation of the Earth from the 
Sun, which now sends its rays from a far distance, enables 
man to live at the proper rate of vibration, to unfold 
slowly. The Moon-forces reach him from the exact dis- 
tance necessary to enable him to build a body of the proper 
density. But although the latter forces are active in the 
building of the form, they also cause death when their 
continued work finally crystallizes the tissues of the body. 
The Sun works in the vital body and is the force which 
makes for life, and wars against the death-dealing Moon 
force. 

The Lemuriajt Epoch. 

In this Epoch appeared the Archangels (the humanity 
of Sun Period), and the Lords of Mind (the humanity of 
Saturn Period). These Hierarchies were assisted by the 
Lords of Form, who were given charge of the Earth 
Period. They helped man to build his desire body, and 
the Lords of Mind gave the germ of Mind to the greater 
part of the pioneers who formed class 1, according to the 
classification in diagram 10. 

The Lords of Form vivified the Human spirit in as 
many of the stragglers of the Moon Period as had made- 
the necessary progress in the three and one-half Revolu- 
tions which had elapsed since the commencement of the 
Earth Period, but at that time the Lords of Mind could 



266 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

not give them the germ of Mind. Thus a great part of 
nascent humanity was left without this link between the 
threefold spirit and the threefold body. 

The Lords of Mind took charge of the higher part of the 
desire body and of the germinal mind, impregnating them 
with the . quality of separate selfhood, without which no 
separate, self-contained beings such as we are today would 
be possible. 

We owe to the Lords of Mind the separate personality, 
with all the possibilities for experience and growth thus 
afforded. And this point marks the birth of the Indi- 
vidual. 

Birth of the Individual. 

Diagram 1 will make clear the fact that the personality 
is the reflected picture of the Spirit, the mind being the 
mirror, or focus. 

As when reflected in a pond, the images of trees appear 
inverted, the foliage seeming to be the deepest down in 
the water, so the highest aspect of the spirit (the Divine 
Spirit) finds its counterpart in the lowest of the three 
bodies (the dense body). The next highest spirit (the 
life spirit) is reflected in the next lowest body (the vital 
body). The third spirit (the human spirit) and its re- 
flection, the third body (the desire body), appear closest 
of all to the reflecting mirror, which is the mind, the lat- 
ter corresponding to the surface of the pond — the reflect- 
ing medium in our analogy. 

The Spirit came down from the higher Worlds during 
involution; and by concurrent action, the Bodies were 
built upward in the same period. It is the meeting of 
these two streams in the focussing Mind that marks the 
point in time when the individual, the human being, the 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 267 

Ego, is born — ^wlaen the Spirit takes possession of its 
vehicles. 

Yet we must not suppose that this at once raised man 
to his present status in evolution, making him the self- 
conscious, thinking being he is today. Before that point 
could be reached a long and weary road had to be trav- 
eled, for at the time we are considering, organs were in 
their most rudimentary stage and there was no brain that 
could be used as an instrument of expression. Hence the 
consciousness was the dimmest imaginable. In short, the 
man of that day was very far from being as intelligent as 
our present-day animals. The first step in the direction 
of improvement was the building of a brain to use as an 
instrument of mind in the Physical World. That was 
achieved by separating humanity into sexes. 

Separation of the Sexes. 

Contrary to the generally accepted idea, the Ego is bi- 
sexual. Were the Ego sexless, the body would necessarily 
be sexless also, for the body is but the external symbol of 
the indwelling spirit. 

The sex of the Ego does not, of course, express itself as 
such in the inner worlds. It manifests there as two dis- 
tinct qualities — Will and Imagination. The Will is the 
male power and is allied to the Sun forces; Imagination 
is the female power and is always linked to the Moon 
forces. This accounts for the imaginative trend of woman 
and for the special power which the Moon exercises over 
the female organism. 

When the matter of which the Earth and the Moon were 
afterwards formed was still a part of the Sun, the body 
of man-in-the-making was yet plastic, and the forces from 
that part which afterwards became Sun, and that part 



268 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

which is now Moon worked readily in all bodies, so that 
the man of the Hyperborean Epoch was heimaphrodite — 
capable of producing another being from himself without 
intercourse with any other. 

When the Earth separated from the Sun and shortly 
afterwards threw off the Moon, the forces from the two 
luminaries did not find equal expression in all, as formerly. 
Some bodies became more amenable to the forces from one, 
and some to those from the other. 

Influence of Mars. 

In the part of the Earth Period preceding the separation 
of the sexes — during the three and one-half Revolutions 
which intervened between the time when Mars was differ- 
entiated and the beginning of the Lemurian Epoch — 
Mars traveled in a different orbit from the present, and its 
aura (that part of its finer vehicles which extends beyond 
the dense planet) permeated the body of the central planet 
and polarized the iron within it. 

As iron is essential to the production of warm, red 
blood, all creatures were cold-blooded, or rather, the fluid 
parts of the body were no warmer than the surrounding 
atmosphere. 

When the Earth was set free from the Central Sun, that 
event changed the orbits of the planets and thus the influ- 
ence of Mars over the iron in the Earth was minimized. 
The Planetary Spirit of Mars finally withdrew the re- 
mainder of that influence, and although the desire bodies 
of the Earth and Mars still penetrate, the dynamic power 
of Mars over the iron (which is a Mars metal) has ceased 
and iron has become available for use on our planet. 

Iron is in reality the basis of separate existence. With- 
out iron the red, heat-giving blood would be an impossi- 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 269 

bility, and the Ego could have no hold in the body. When 
red blood developed — in the latter part of the Leniurian 
Epoch — the body became upright and the time had come 
when the Ego could begin to dwell within the body and 
control it. 

But to dwell within is not the end and aim of evolu- 
tion. It is simply a means by which the Ego may better 
express itself through its instrument, that it may manifest 
in the Physical AVorld. To that end the sense organs, the 
larynx, and above all, a brain, must be built and perfected. 

During the early part of the Hyperborean Epoch, while 
the Earth was still united with the Sun, the solar forces 
supplied man with all the sustenance he needed and he 
unconsciously radiated the surplus for the purpose of 
propagation. 

When the Ego entered into possession of its vehicles it 
became necessary to use part of this force for the building 
of the brain and the larynx, which was originally a part 
of the creative organ. The larynx was built while the 
dense body was yet bent together in the bag-like shape 
already described, which is still the form of the human 
embryo. As the dense body straightened and became up- 
right, part of the creative organ remained with the upper 
part of the dense body and later became the larynx. 

Thus the dual creative force which had hitherto worked 
in only one direction, for the purpose of creating another 
being, became divided. One part was directed upward to 
build the brain and larynx, by means of which the Ego 
was to become capable of thinking and communicating 
"thoughts to other beings. 

As a result of this change only one part of the force 
essential in the creation of another being was available 
to one individual, hence it became necessary for each indi- 



270 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

vidual to seek the co-operation of another, who possessed 
that part of the procreative force which the seeker lacked. 
Thus did the evolving entity obtain brain consciousness 
of the outside world at the cost of half its creative power. 
Previous to that time, it used within itself both parts of 
that power to externalize another being. As a result of 
that modification, however, it has evolved the power to 
create and express thought. Before then, it was a creator 
in the physical world only; since then it has become able 
to create in the three worlds. 

The Eaces and Their Leaders. 

Before considering in detail the evolution of the Le- 
murians it may be well to take a general survey of the 
Eaces and their Leaders. 

Some very valuable works on Occultism, bringing before 
the public the teachings of the Eastern Wisdom, have 
nevertheless contained certain mistakes, owing to a mis- 
understanding of the teachings by those who were so for- 
tunate as to receive them. All books, not written directly 
by the Elder Brothers, are liable to contain such errors. 
Considering the extreme intricacy and many complica- 
tions of the subject, the wonder is not that mistakes do 
occur, but that they are not more frequent. Therefore the 
^^•riter does not presume to criticise, recognizing that more 
numerous and more serious mistakes may be embodied in 
the present work, owing to his own misconception of tho 
teaching- He simply sets forth in the next few paragraplis 
what he has received, which shows how the differing (and 
seemingly contradictory) teaching of two such valuable 
works as "The Secret Doctrine" by H. P. Blavatsky, and 
^^Esoteric Buddhism," by A. P. Sinnett, may be reconciled. 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 271 

That part of human evolution which is to be accom- 
plished during the present sojourn of the life wave on our 
Earth is divisible into seven great stages or Epochs; but 
these cannot appropriately be called Races. Nothing to 
which that name could be correctly applied appears until 
the end of the Lemurian Epoch. From that time different 
Races succeed one another through the Atlantean and 
Aryan Epochs, and will extend slightly into the Sixth 
great Epoch. 

The toal number of Races — past, present and future — 
in our scheme of evolution is sixteen; one at the end of 
the Lemurian Epoch, seven during the Atlantean Epoch, 
seven more in our present Aryan Epoch and one in the 
beginning of the Sixth Epoch. After that time there will 
be nothing that can properly be called a Race. 

Races did not exist in the Periods wJiich have preceded 
the Earth Period and they will not exist in those Periods 
which follow it. It is only here, at the very nadir of ma- 
terial existence, that the difference is so great between man 
and man as to warrant the separation into Races. 

The immediate Leaders of humanity (apart from the 
creative Hierarchies) w^ho helped man to take the first 
tottering steps in Evolution, after Involution had fur- 
nished him wdth vehicles, were Beings much further ad- 
vanced than man along the path of evolution. They came 
on this errand of love from the two planets which are 
located between the Earth and the Sun — Venus and Mer- 
cury. 

The Beings who inhabit Venus and Mercury are not 
quite so far advanced as those whose present field of evo- 
lution is the Sun, but they are very much further ad- 
vanced tlian our humanity. Therefore they stayed some- 
what longer with the central mass than did the inhabitants 



272 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of the Earth, but at a certain point their evolution de- 
manded separate fields, so those two planets were thrown 
off, Venus first, and then Mercury. Each was given such 
proximity to the central orb as insured the rate of vibra- 
tion necessary for its evolution. The inhabitants of Mer- 
cury are the furthest advanced, hence are closer to the Sun. 

Some of the inhabitants of each planet were sent to the 
Earth to help nascent humanit}^ and are known to occult 
scientists as the "Lords of Venus" and the "Lords of Mer- 
cury." 

The Lords of Venus were leaders of the masses of our 
people. They were inferior beings of the Venus evolution, 
who appeared among men and were known as "messen- 
gers of the Gods." For the good of our humanity they 
led and guided it, step by step. There was no rebellion 
against their authority, because man had not yet^'evolved 
an independent will. It was to bring him to the stage 
where he would be able to manifest will and judgment 
that they guided him, until he should be able to guide 
himself. 

It was known that these messengers communed with the 
Gods They were held in deep reverence and their com- 
mands were obeyed without question. 

When under the tuition of these Beings mankind had 
reached a certain stage of progress, the most advanced 
were placed under the guidance of the Lords of Mercury, 
who initiated them into the higher truths for the purpose 
of making them leaders of the people. These Initiates 
were then exalted to kingship and were the founders of the 
dynasties of Divine Eulers who were indeed kings "by the 
grace of God," i. e., by the grace of the Lords of Venus 
and Mercury, who were as Gods to infant humanity. They 
guided and instructed the kings for the good of the peo- 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 273 

pie and not for self-aggrandizement and arrogation of 
rights at their expense. 

At that time a Ruler held a sacred trust to educate and 
help his people; to alleviate and promote equity and well- 
being. He had the light of God to give him wisdom and 
guide his judgment. Hence, while those kings reigned, 
all things prospered, and it was indeed a Golden Age. Yet, 
as we follow the evolution of man in detail, we shall see 
that the present phase or period of development, though it 
cannot be called a golden age in any but a material sense, 
is nevertheless a necessary one, in order to bring man to 
the point where he will be able to rule himself, for self- 
mastery is the end and aim of all rulership. No man can 
safely remain ungoverned who has not learned to govern 
himself, and at the present stage of development, that is 
the hardest task that can be given Him. It is easy to com- 
mand others; it is hard to force obedience from oneself. 

Influence of Mercury. 

The purpose of the Lords of Mercury at that time, and 
of all Hierophants of Mysteries since then, as also all 
the occult schools of our day, was and is to teach the 
candidate the art of Self-Mastery. In the measure that a 
man has mastered himself, and in that measure only, is he 
qualified to govern others. Were the present rulers of the 
masses able to govern themselves we should again have the 
Millenium or Golden Age. 

As the Lords of Venus worked on the masses of a long- 
past age, so do the Lords of Mercury now work on the 
Individual, fitting him for mastery over self and (inci- 
dentally only, not primarily) for mastery over others. 
This work on their part is but the beginning of what will 



274 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

be an increasing Mercurial influence during the remaining 
three and one-half Eevolutions of the Earth Period. 

During the first three and one-half Eevolutions Mars 
held sway, polarizing the iron, preventing the formation 
of the red blood and keeping the Ego from immuring itself 
in the body until the latter had attained to the requisite 
degree of development. 

During the last three and one-half Eevolutions Mercury 
will operate to extricate the Ego from its densest vehicle 
by means of Initiation. 

Incidentally, it may be noted that, as Mars polarized the 
iron, so Mercury has polarized the metal bearing its name 
and the workings of that metal will show very well this 
tendency to take the dense body away from the spirit — to 
liberate the latter from the former. 

That dread disease, syphilis, is an example of condi- 
tions where the Ego is fettered and immured in the body 
to a particularly cramping extent. Sufficient mercury 
relieves the condition, lessens the hold of the body upon 
the Ego and leaves the latter to that comparative freedom 
within the body which the normal person enjoys. But on 
the other hand, an overdose of mercury causes paralysis, 
thus taking the dense body from the man in an improper 
way. 

The Lords of Mercury taught man to leave and re-enter 
the body at will; to function in his higher vehicles inde- 
pendent of the dense body, so that the latter becomes a 
cheerful dwelling house instead of a closely-locked prison 
— a useful instrument instead of a clogging fetter. 

Therefore occult science speaks of the Earth Period as 
Mars-Mercury, and so it may be said truly that we have 
been in Mars and are going to Mercury, as taught in one 
of the occult works previously mentioned. It is also true, 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 275 

however, that we have never inhabited the planet Mars, 
nor are we to leave the earth at some future time to take 
up our abode on the planet Mercury, as the other work 
mentioned states, with the intention of correcting an error 
in the first one. 

Mercury, now being in obscuration, is exercising very 
little influence on us, but it is emerging from a planetary 
rest and as time goes on its influence will be more and 
more in evidence as a factor in our evolution. The coming 
Races will have much help from the Mercurians, and the 
people of still later Epochs and Revolutions will have even 
more. 

The Lemurian Eace. 

We are now in a position to understand the information 
which is to follow concerning the people who lived in the 
latter part of the Lemurian Epoch, whom we may call the 
Lemurian Eace. 

The atmosphere of Lemuria was still very dense — some- 
what like the fire-fog of the Moon Period, but denser. 
The crust of the Earth was just starting to become quite 
hard and solid in some places, while in others it was still 
fiery, and between islands of crust was a sea of boiling, 
seething water. Volcanic outbursts and cataclysms marked 
this time when the nether fires fought hard against the 
formation of the encircling wall which was to imprison 
them. 

Upon the harder and comparatively cool spots man lived 
surrounded by giant fern-forests and animals of enormous 
size. The forms of both man and animal were yet quite 
plastic. The skeleton had formed, but man himself had 
great power in molding the flesh of his own body and 
that of the animals about him. 



276 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

When he was born he could hear and feel, but his per- 
ception of light came later. We have analogous cases in 
animals like cats and dogs, the young of which receive 
the sense of sight some time after birth. The Lemurian 
had no eyes. He had two sensitive spots which were 
affected by the light of the Sun as it shone dimly through 
the fiery atmosphere of ancient Lemuria, but it was not 
until nearly the close of the Atlantean Epoch that he had 
sight as we have it today. Up to that time the building of 
the eye was in progress. While the Sun was within — while 
the Earth formed part of the light-giving mass — man 
needed no external illuminant; he was luminous himself. 
But when the dark Earth was separated from the Sun it 
became necessary that the light should be perceived, there- 
fore as the light-rays impinged upon man, he perceived 
them. Nature built the eye as a light-perceiver, in re- 
sponse to the demand of the already-existing function, 
which is invariably the case, as Professor Huxley has so 
ably shown. The amoeba has no stomach, yet it digests. 
It is all stomach. The necessity for digesting food built 
the stomach in the course of time, but digestion took place 
before the alimentary canal was formed. In an analogous 
manner, the perception of light called forth the eye. The 
light itself built the eye and maintains it. Where there 
is no light there can be no eye. In cases where animals 
have withdrawn and dwelt in caves — keeping away from 
the light — the eyes have degenerated and atrophied because 
there were no light rays to maintain them and no eyes 
were needed in the dark caves. The Lemurian needed 
eyes ; he had a perception of light, and the light was com- 
mencing to build the eye in response to his demand. 

His language consisted of sounds like those of Nature. 
The sighing of the wind in the immense forests which 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 277 

grew in great luxuriance in that super-tropical climate, 
the rippling of the brook, the howling of the tempest — for 
Lemuria was storm-swept — the thunder of the waterfall, 
the roar of the volcano — all these were to him voices of the 
Gods from whom he knew himself to have descended. 

Of the birth of his body he knew nothing. He could 
not see either it or anything else, but he did perceive his 
fellow-beings. It was, however, an inner perception, like 
our perception of persons and things in dreams, but with 
this very important difference, that his dream-perception 
was clear and rational. 

Thus he knew nothing at all about his body, in fact he 
did not even know he had a body any more than we know 
we have a stomach when that organ is in good health. We 
remember its existence only when our abuse of it causes 
us to feel pain there. Under normal conditions we are 
entirely unconscious of its processes. Similarly did the 
body of the Lemur ian serve him excellently, although he 
was unaware of its existence. Pain was the means of 
making him aware of his body and of the world without. 

Everything in connection with the propagation of the 
race and the bringing to birth was done by direction of the 
Angels under the leadership of Jehovah, the Regent of the 
Moon. The propagative function was performed at stated 
times of the year when the lines of force, running from 
planet to planet, were focussed at proper angles. Thus 
the creative force encountered no obstruction and parturi- 
tion was painless. Man was unaware of birth, because at 
that time he was as unconscious of the physical world as 
he now is during sleep. It was only in the intimate con- 
tact of sex relation that the spirit became aware of the 
flesh and the man "knew" his wife. That is shown in 
such passages of the Bible as "Adam Icnew Eve and she 



278 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

bore Seth"; "Elkanah Icnew Hannah and she bore Sam- 
uel"; and Mary's question, "How shall I conceive, seeing 
I Icnow no man?" This is also the key to the meaning 
of the "Tree of Knowledge," the fruit of which opened 
the eyes of Adam and Eve, so that they came to know both 
good and " evil. Previously they had known only good, 
but when they began to exercise the creative function 
independently, they were ignorant of stellar influences, 
as are their descendants, and Jehovah's supposed curse was 
not a curse at all, but a simple statement of the result 
which must inevitably follow use of the generative force 
which failed to take into consideration the effect of the 
stellar rays on childbirth. 

Thus the ignorant use of the generative force is pri- 
marily responsible for pain, sickness and sorrow. 

The Lemurian knew no death because when, in the 
course of long ages, his body dropped away, he entered an- 
other, quite unconscious of the change. His consciousness 
was not focussed in the physical world, therefore the laying 
aside of one body and the taking of another was no more 
to him than a leaf or twig drying and falling away from 
the tree and being replaced by a new growth. 

Their language was to the Lemurians something holy. 
It was not a dead language like ours — a mere orderly ar- 
rangement of sounds. Each sound uttered by the Lemu- 
rian had power over his fellow-beings, over the animals 
and even over nature around him. Therefore, under the 
guidance of the Lords of Venus, who were the messengers 
of God — the emissaries of the creative hierarchies — the 
power of speech was used with great reverence, as some- 
thing most holy. 

The education of the boys differed greatly from that of 
the girls. The Lemurian methods of education seem 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 279 

sliocking to our more refined sensibilities. In order to 
spare the reader's feelings, onl}^ the least cruel of them will 
be touched upon. Strenuous in the extreme as they may 
seem, it must be remembered that the Lemurian body was 
not nearly so high-strung as are the human bodies of the 
present day; also that it was only by the very harshest 
measures that the exceedingly dim consciousness could be 
touched at all. As time went on and the consciousness 
became more and more awakened, such extreme measures 
as those used then became unnecessary and have passed 
away, but at that time they were indispensable to arouse 
the slumbering forces of the spirit to a consciousness of 
the outside world. 

The education of the boys was designed especially to de- 
velop the quality of Will. They were made to fight one 
another, and these fights were extremely brutal. They 
were impaled upon spits, with full power to release them- 
selves, but b}' exercising the will-power they were to re- 
main there in spite of the pain. They learned to make 
their muscles tense, and to carry immense burdens by the 
exercise of the Will. 

The education of the girls was intended to promote the 
development of the imaginative faculty. They also were 
subjected to strenuous and severe treatment. They were 
put out in the great forests, to let the sound of the wind- 
in the tree-tops speak to them and to listen to the furious 
outbursts of flood and tempest. They thus learned to 
have no fear of those paroxysms of nature and to perceive 
only the grandeur of the warring elements. The frequent 
volcanic outbursts were greatly valued as a means of edu- 
cation, being particularly conducive to the awakening of 
the faculty of memory. 

Such educational methods would be entirely out of the 



280 KOSICKU^IAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

question at the present day, but they did not make the 
Lemurian morbid, because he had no memory. No matter 
what painful or terrifying experiences he endured, every- 
thing was forgotten as soon as past. The above-mentioned 
strenuous experiences were for the purpose of developing 
memory, to imprint these violent and constantly-repeated 
impacts from without upon the brain, because memory is 
necessary that the experiences of the past may be used as 
guides to Action. 

The education of the girls developed the first germinal, 
flickering memory. The first idea of Good and Evil was 
formulated hy them because of their experiences, which 
worked chiefly on the imagination. Those experiences 
most likely to leave a recollection were thought "Good;" 
those which did not produce that much-desired result were 
considered "Evil." 

Thus woman became the pioneer in culture, being the 
first to develop the idea of "a good life," of which she be- 
came the esteemed exponent among the ancients and in 
that respect she has nobly led the vanguard ever since. 
Of course, as all Egos incarnate alternately as male and 
female, there is really no pre-eminence. It is simply that 
those who for the time being are in a dense body of the 
feminine gender have a positive vital body, and are there- 
fore more responsive to spiritual impacts than when the 
vital body is negative as in the male. 

As we have seen, the Lemurian was a born magician. 
He felt himself a descendant of the Gods, a spiritual being; 
therefore his line of advancement was by gaining not spir- 
itual, but material knowledge. The Temples of Initiation 
for the most advanced did not need to reveal to man his 
high origin; to educate him to perform feats of magic; to 
instruct him how to function in the desire world and the 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 281 

higher realms. Such instruction is necessary today be- 
cause now the average man has no knowledge of the spir- 
itual world, nor can he function in superphysical realms. 
The Lemurian, however, in his own way, did possess that 
knowledge and could exercise those faculties, but on the 
other hand, he was ignorant of the Laws of the Cosmos and 
of facts regarding the physical world which are matters of 
common, everyday knowledge with us. Therefore at the 
School of Initiation he was taught art, the laws of Nature 
and facts relating to the physical universe. His will was 
strengthened and his imagination and memory wakened so 
that he could correlate experiences and devise ways and 
means of action when his past experiences did not serve 
to indicate a proper course of procedure. Thus the Tem- 
ples of Initiation in the Lemurian times were High 
Schools for the cultivation of Will-power and Imagina- 
tion, with "post-graduate courses" in Art and Science. 

Yet, though the Lemurian was a born magician, he never 
misused his powers because he felt himself related to the 
Gods. Under the direction of the Messengers of the Gods, 
already spoken of, his forces were directed toward the 
molding of forms in the animal and the plant worlds. It 
may be hard for the materialist to understand how he 
could do such work if he could not see the world about 
him. It is true man could not "see" as we understand the 
term and as he now sees objects outside in space with his 
physical eyes. Still, as the purest of our children are 
clairvoyant to this day while they remain in a state of 
sinless innocence, so the Lemurians, who were yet pure 
and innocent, possessed an internal perception which gave 
them only a dim idea of the outward shape of any object, 
but illumined so much the brighter its inner nature, its 



282 ROSICRtJCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

soul-quality, by a spiritual apperception born of innocent 
purity. 

Innocence, however, is not synonymous with Virtue. 
Innocence is the child of Ignorance and could not be main- 
tained in a universe where the purpose of evolution is the 
acquisition of Wisdom. To attain that end, a knowledge 
of good and evil, right and wrong, is essential, also choice 
of action. 

If, having knowledge and choice, man ranges himself on 
the side of Good and Eight he cultivates Virtue and Wis- 
dom. If he succumbs to temptation and does wrong know- 
ingly, he fosters vice. 

God's plan is not to be brought to naught, however. 
Every act is a seed-ground for the law of Consequence. 
We reap what we sow. The weeds of wrong action bear 
flowers of sorrow and suffering, and when the seeds from 
them hav>e fallen into a chastened heart, when they have 
been watered by the tears of repentance Virtue will event- 
ually blossom forth. What blessed assurance, that out of 
every evil we do, Good will eventually accrue, for in our 
Father's Kingdom naught but Good can endure. 

Therefore the ^Tall" with its consequent pain and suf- 
fering is but a temporary state where we see through a 
glass darkly, but anon we shall behold again face to face 
the God within and without who is ever perceived by the 
pure in heart. 

The Fall of Man. 

This is cabalistically described as the experience of one 
pair who, of course, represent humanity. The key is 
given in the verse where the Messenger of the Gods says 
to the woman, "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children ;" 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 283 

the clue is also found in the sentence of death which was 
pronounced at that same time. 

It will be observed that previous to the Fall the con- 
sciousness was not focussed in the physical world. Man 
was unconscious of propagation, birth and death. The An- 
gels who have charge of and work in the vital body (the 
medium of propagation) regulated the propagative func- 
tion and brought the sexes together at certain seasons of 
the year, using the solar and the lunar forces when they 
produced conditions most propitious for fecundation, the 
union being achieved unconsciously to the participants at 
first, but later it produced a momentary physical cognition. 
Then the period of gestation caused no inconvenience and 
parturition was painless, the parent being plunged in deep 
sleep. Birth and death involved no break in the conscious- 
ness and were therefore non-existent to the Lemurians. 

Their consciousness was directed inward. They per- 
ceived physical things in a spiritual way, as we perceive 
them in a dream — at which time all that we see is within 
ourselves. 

When "their eyes were opened" and their consciousness 
was directed outward toward the facts of the physical 
world, conditions were altered. Propagation was directed, 
not by the Angels, but by man, who was ignorant of the 
operation of the Sun- and Moon-forces. He also abused 
the sex-function, using it for sense-gratification, with the 
result that pain attended the process of child-bearing. 
Then his consciousness became focussed in the physical 
world, although all tilings did not appear to his vision with 
clearly-defined outlines until the latter part of the Atlan- 
tean Epoch. Still he came by degrees to know death be- 
cause of the break made in his consciousness when it was 



284 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

shifted to the higher worlds at death and back to the 
physical world at rebirth. 

The "opening of the eyes" was brought about in the fol- 
lowing manner: We remember that when the sexes sep- 
arated, the male became an expression for Will, which is 
one part of the twofold soul-force; the female expressing 
the other part, Imagination. If woman were not imagina- 
tive she could not build the new body in the womb and 
were not the spermatozoon an embodiment of the concen- 
trated human will, it could not accomplish impregnation 
and so commence the germination, which results in the 
continued segmentation of the ovum. 

These twin-forces. Will and Imagination, are both 
necessary to the propagation of bodies. Since the separa- 
tion of the sexes, however, one of these forces remains 
within each individual and only the part given out is avail- 
able for propagation. Hence the necessity for the one- 
sexed being who expresses only one kind of soul-force, to 
unite with another, who expresses the complementary soul- 
force. This was previously explained; also that the part 
of the soul-force not used for propagation becomes avail- 
able for inner growth. So long as man sent out the full, 
dual sex-force for generation, he could accomplish nothing 
in the direction of soul-growth for himself. But since 
then the part not used through the sex-organ has been ap- 
propriated by the indwelling spirit to build the brain and 
the larynx for its expression. 

Thus man built on, all through the latter part of the 
Lemurian Epoch and the first two-thirds of the Atlantean 
Epoch until, by the above-mentioned use of this half of 
his sex-force, he became a fully-conscious, thinking, rea- 
soning, being. 

In man the brain is the link between the spirit and the 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 285 

outside world. He can know nothing of the outside world 
except through the medium of the brain. The sense-organs 
are merely carriers to the brain of impacts from without 
and tjie brain is the instrument which interprets and co- 
ordinates those impacts. The Angels belonged to a dif- 
ferent evolution and had never been imprisoned in a dense 
and cumbrously slow vehicle such as ours. They had 
learned to obtain knowledge without a physical brain. 
Their lowest vehicle is the vital body. Wisdom came to 
them as a gift, without the necessity of laboriously think- 
ing it out through a physical brain. 

Man, however, had to "fall into generation," and work 
for his knowledge. The spirit, by means of one part of 
the sex-force directed inward, built the brain to gather 
knowledge from the physical world, and the same force is 
feeding and building the brain today. It is subverted 
from its proper course inasmuch as it should have gone 
outward for procreation, but man retains it for selfish pur- 
poses. No so the Angels. They had experienced no di- 
vision of their soul-powers, therefore they could send out 
the dual soul-force without selfish reservation. 

The force that goes outward for the purpose of creating 
another being is Love. The Angels sent out their whole 
love, loithout selfishness or desire and in return. Cosmic 
Wisdom flowed into them. 

Man sends out only part of his love; the residue he 
selfishly keeps and uses to build his inner organs of ex- 
pression, to improve himself; thus does his love become 
selfish and sensual. With one part of his creative soul- 
power he selfishly loves another being because he desires 
co-operation in propagation. With the other part of his 
creative soul-power he thinks (also for selfish reasons) 
because he desires knowledge. 



286 EOSICitUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The Angels love without desire, but man had to go 
through selfishness. He must desire and work for wisdom 
selfishly, that he may reach selflessness at a higher stage. 

The Angels helped him to propagate even after the sub- 
version of part of the soul-force. They helped him to 
build the physical brain, but they had no knowledge that 
could be transmitted by means of it, because they did not 
know how to use such an instrument and could not speak 
directly to a brain-being. All they could do was to con- 
trol the physical expression of the love of man and guide 
it through the emotions in a loving, innocent way, thus 
saving man the pain and trouble incident to the exercise 
of the sex-function without wisdom. 

Had that regime lasted, man would have remained 
simply a God-guided automaton and would never have 
become a personality — an individual. That he has be- 
come so is due to a much-maligned class of entities called 
the Lucifer Spirits. 

The Lucifer Spirits. 

These spirits were a class of stragglers in tlie life wave 
of the Angels. In the Moon Period they worked them- 
selves far ahead of the great mass of those who are now 
the most advanced of our humanity. They have not pro- 
gressed as far as the Angels who were the pioneer human- 
ity of the Moon, however, but they were so much in 
advance of our persent humanity that it was impossible for 
them to take a dense body as we have done ; yet they could 
not gain knowledge without the use of an inner organ, 
a physical brain. They were half-way between man who 
has a brain and the Angels who need none — in short, they 
were demi-gods. 

They were thus in a serious situation. The only way 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 287 

they could find an avenue through which to express them- 
selves and gain knowledge was to use man's physical brain, 
as they could make themselves understood by a physical 
being endowed with a brain, which the Angels could not. 

As said, in the latter part of the Lemurian Epoch man 
did not see the physical world as we do now. To him the 
desire world was much more real. He had the dream- 
consciousness of the Moon Period — an inner picture-con- 
sciousness; he was unconscious of the world outside him- 
self. The Lucifers had no difficulty in manifesting to 
his inner consciousness and calling his attention to his out- 
ward shaj3e, which he had not theretofore perceived. They 
told him how he could cease being simply the servant of 
external powers, and could become his own master and 
like unto the gods, "knowing good and evil." They also 
made clear to him that he need have no apprehension if his 
body died, inasmuch as he had within himself the creative 
ability to form new bodies without the mediation of the 
Angels. All of which information was given with the one 
purpose of turning his consciousness outward for the 
acquirement of knowledge. 

This the Lucifers did that they might profit by it 
themselves — to gain knowledge as man acquired it. They 
brought to him pain and suffering where there was none 
before; but they also brought him the inestimable blessing 
of emancipation from outside influence and guidance, 
thereby starting him on the road to the evolution of his 
own spiritual powers — an evolution which will eventually 
enable him to upbuild himself with wisdom such as that 
of the Angels and other Beings Who guided him before 
he first exercised free will. 

Before man's enlightenment by the Lucifer Spirits he 
had not known sickness, pain nor death. AU oi these 



288 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

resulted from the unwise use of the propagative faculty 
and its abuse for the gratification of the senses. Animals 
in their wild state are exempt from sickness and pain, 
because their propagation is carried on under the care and 
direction of the wise group-spirit at only those times of the 
year which are propitious to that process. The sex-func- 
tion is designed solely for the perpetuation of the species 
and under no circumstances for the gratification of sensual 
desire. 

Had man remained a God-guided automaton, he would 
have known no sickness, pain, nor death unto this day; 
but he would also have lacked the brain-consciousness and 
independence which resulted from his enlightenment by 
the Lucifer Spirits, the ^^light-givers," who opened the eyes 
of his understanding and taught him to use his then dim 
vision to gain knowledge of the Physical World which he 
was destined to conquer. 

From that time there have been two forces working in 
man. One force is that of the Angels^, who build new 
beings in the womb by means of the Love which is turned 
downward for procreation; they are therefore the perpetu- 
ators of the race. 

The other force is that of the Lucifers, who are the 
instigators of all mental activity, by means of the other 
part of the sex-force, which is carried upward for work 
in the brain. 

The Lucifers are also called "serpents" and are vari- 
ously represented in different mythologies. More will be 
said about them when we come to the anaylsis of Genesis. 
For the present enough has been said to warrant us in 
pursuing the main line of investigation, which leads us to 
follow the progress of man's evolution still further, through 
the Atlantean and Aryan Epochs, down to the present day. 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 389 

What has been said about the enlightenment of the 
Lemurians applies to only a minor portion of those who 
lived in the latter part of that Epoch, and who became 
the Seed for the Seven Atlantean Eaces. The greater 
part of the Lemnrians were animal-like and the forms 
inhabited by them have degenerated into the savages and 
anthropoids of the present day. 

The student is requested to note carefully that it was 
the Forms which degenerated. There is a very important 
distinction to be kept in mind between the bodies (or 
forms) of a race, and the Egos (or life) which incarnates 
in those race-bodies. 

When a race is born, the forms are ensouled by a certain 
group of spirits and have inherent capability of evolving 
to a certain stage of completion and no further. There 
can be no standing still in nature, therefore when the limit 
of attainment has been reached, the bodies or forms of that 
race begin to degenerate, sinking lower and lower until at 
last the race dies out. 

The reason is not far to seek. New race-bodies are 
particularly flexible and plastic, affording great scope for 
the Egos who incarnate in them to improve those vehicles 
and progress thereby. The most advanced Egos are 
brought to birth in such bodies and improve them to the 
best of their ability. These Egos, however, are only 
apprentices as yet, and they cause the bodies to gradually 
crystallize and harden until the limit of improvement of 
that particular kind of body has been reached. Then 
forms for another new race are created, to afford the 
advancing Egos further scope for more extended experience 
and greater development. They discard the old race- 
bodies for the new^ their discarded bodies becoming the 
habitations for less advanced 5gos who, in their turn, 



290 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTlOISr 

use them as stepping-stones on the path of progress. Thus 
the old race-bodies are used by Egos of increasing inferior- 
ity, gradually degenerating until at last there are no Egos 
low enough to profit by incarnation in such bodies. The 
women then become sterile and the race- forms die. 

We may easily trace this process by certain examples. 
The Teutonic- Anglo-Saxon race (particularly the Ameri- 
can branch of it) has a softer and more flexible body and 
a more high-strung nervous system than any other race on 
earth at the present time. The Indian and the Negro 
have much harder bodies and, because of the duller ner- 
vous system, are much less sensitive to lacerations. An 
Indian will continue to fight after receiving wounds the 
shock of which would prostrate or kill a white man, 
whereas the Indian will quickly recover. The Australian 
aborigines or Bushmen furnish an example of a race dying 
out on account of sterility, notwithstanding all that the 
British government is doing to perpetuate them. 

It has been said by white men against the white race, 
that wherever it goes the other races die out. The whites 
have been guilty of fearful oppression towards those other 
races, having in many cases massacred multitudes of the 
defenseless and unsuspecting natives — as witness the con- 
duct of the Spaniards towards the ancient Peruvians and 
Mexicans, to specify but one of many instances. The 
obligations resulting from such betrayal of confidence and 
abuse of superior intelligence and power will all have to 
be paid — yea, to the last, least iota! — ^by those incurring 
them. It is equally true, however, that even had the 
whites not massacred, starved, enslaved, expatriated and 
otherwise maltreated those older races, the latter would 
nevertheless had died out just as surely, though more 
slowly, because such is the Law of Evolution — the Order 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 291 

of Nature. At some future time the white race-bodies, 
when they become inhabited by the Egos who are now em- 
bodied in red, black, yellow or brown skins, will have 
degenerated so far that they also will disappear, to give 
place to other and better vehicles. 

Science speaks only of evolution. It fails to consider 
the lines of Degeneration which are slowly but surely 
destroying such bodies as have crystallized beyond possi- 
bihty of improvement. 

The Atlantean Epoch. 

Volcanic cataclysms destroyed the greater part of the 
Lemurian continent and in its stead rose the Atlantean 
continent, where the Atlantic Ocean now is. 

Material scientists, impelled by the story of Plato to 
undertake researches regarding Atlantis, have demon- 
strated that there is ample foundation for the story that 
such a continent did exist. Occult scientists know that it 
existed and they also know that the conditions there were 
such as shall now be described. 

Ancient Atlantis differed from our present world in 
many ways, but the greatest difference was in the consti- 
tution of the atmosphere and the water of that Epoch. 

From the southern part of the planet came the hot, 
fiery breath of the volcanoes which were still abundantly 
active. From the north swept down the icy blasts of the 
Polar region. The continent of Atlantis was the meeting- 
place of those two currents, consequently its atmosphere 
was always filled with a thick and murky fog. The water 
was not so dense as now, but contained a greater propor- 
tion of air. ^luch water was also held in suspension in 
the heavy, foggy Atlantean atmosphere. 

Through this atmosphere the Sun never clearly shone. 



292 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

It appeared to be surrounded by an aura of light-mist, as 
do street-lamps when seen through a dense fog. It was 
then possible to see only a few feet in any direction and 
the outlines of all objects not close at hand appeared 
dim, hazy and uncertain. Man was guided more by 
internal perception than by external vision. 

Not only the country, but also the man of that time 
was very different from anything existent on earth at the 
present time. He had a head, but scarcely any forehead ; 
his brain had no frontal development ; the head sloped 
almost abruptly back from a point Just above the eyes. 
As compared with our present humanity, he was a giant; 
his arms and legs were much longer, in proportion to his 
body, than ours. Instead of walking, he progressed by a 
series of flying leaps, not unlike those of the kangaroo. 
He had small blinking eyes and his hair was round in 
section. The latter peculiarity, if no other, distinguishes 
the descendants of the Atlantean races who remain with 
us at the present day. Their hair was straight, glossy, 
black and round in section. That of the Aryan, though 
it may differ in color, is always oval in section. The ears 
of the Atlantean sat much further back upon the . head 
than do those of the Aryan. 

The higher vehicles of the early Atlanteans were not 
drawn into a concentric position in relation to the dense 
body, as are ours. The spirit was not quite an t?idwelling 
spirit; it was partially outside, therefore could not con- 
trol its vehicles with as great facility as though it dwelt 
entirely inside. The head of the vital body was outside of 
and held a position far above the physical head. There 
is a point between the eyebrows and about half an inch 
below the surface of the skin, which has a corresponding 
point in the vital body. This point is not the pituitary 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 293 

body, which lies much deeper in the head of the dense 
body. It might be called "the root of the nose." When 
these two points in the dense and the vital bodies inter- 
penetrate, as they do in man today, the trained clairvoyant 
sees them as a black spot, or rather as a vacant space, like 
the invisible core of a gas flame. This is the seat of the 
indwelling spirit in the man — the Holy of Holies in the 
temple of the human body, barred to all but that indwell- 
ing human ego whose home it is. The trained clairvoyant 
can see with more or less distinctness, according to his 
capacity and training, all the different bodies which form 
the aura of man. This spot alone is hidden from him. 
This is the "Isis" whose veil none may lift. Not even 
the highest evolved being on earth is capable of unveiling 
the ego of the humblest and least developed creature. 
That, and that alone upon earth, is so sacred that it is 
absolutely safe from intrusion. 

These two points just spoken of — the one in the dense 
body and its counterpart in the vital body — were far apart 
in the men of the early Atlantean days, as they are in 
the animals of our day. The head of the horse's vital 
body is far outside the head of its dense body. The two 
points are closer together in the dog than in any other 
animal except, perhaps, the elephant. When they become 
concentric we have an animal prodigy, able to count, 
spell, etc. 

On account of the distance between these two points, 
the Atlantean's power of perception or vision was much 
keener in the inner Worlds than in the dense Physical 
World, obscured by its atmosphere of thick, heavy fog. 
In the fullness of time, however, the atmosphere slowly 
became clearer; at the same time, the point spoken of in 
the vital body came closer and closer to the corresponding 



294 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

point in the dense body. As the two approached each 
other, man gradually lost touch with the inner Worlds. 
They became dimmer as the dense Physical World became 
clearer in outline. Finally, in the last third of the At- 
lantean Epoch, the point in the vital body was united to 
the corresponding point in the dense body. Not until then 
did man become fully awake in the dense Physical World; 
but at the same time that full sight and perception in the 
Physical World were gained, the capability of perceiving 
the inner Worlds was gradually lost to most of the people. 

In an earlier time the Atlantean did not clearly per- 
ceive the outline of .an object or a person, but he saw the 
soul and at once knew its attributes, whether they were 
beneficial to him or otherwise. He knew whether the man 
or animal he was regarding was kindly or inimically dis- 
posed toward him. He was accurately taught by spiritual 
perception how to deal with others and how to escape 
harm, therefore when the Spiritual World gradually faded 
from his consciousness^ great was his sorrow at the loss. 

The Emoahals were the first of the Atlantean Kaces. 
They had but little memory and that little was chiefly con- 
nected with sensation. They remembered colors and tones, 
and thus to some extent they evolved Feeling. The 
Lemurian had entirely lacked Feeling, in the finer sig- 
nification of the word. He had the sense of touch, could 
feel the physical sensations of pain, ease and comfort, but 
not the mental and spiritual ones of joy, sorrow, sympathy 
and antipathy. 

With memory came to the Atlanteans the rudiments of 
a language. They evolved words and no longer made use 
of mere sounds, as did the Lemurians. The Kmoahals 
began to give names to things. They were yet a spiritual 
race and, their soul-powers being like the forces of nature, 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 295 

they not only named the objects around them, but in their 
words was power over the things they named. Like the 
last of the Lemurians, their Feelings as spirits inspired 
them, and no harm was ever done to one another. To 
them the language was holy, as the highest direct expres- 
sion of the spirit. The power was never abused or de- 
graded by gossip or small talk. By the use of definite 
language the soul in this race first became able to contact 
the soul of things in the outside world. 

The Tlavatlis were the second Atlantean Eace. Already 
they began to feel their worth as separate human beings. 
They became ambitious; they demanded that their works 
be remembered. Memory became a factor in the life of 
the community. The remembrance of the deeds done by 
certain ones would cause a group of people to choose as 
their leader one who had done great deeds. This was the 
germ of Eoyalty. 

This remembrance of the meritorious deeds of great 
men was carried even beyond the time when such leaders 
died. Mankind began to honor the memory of ancestors 
and to worship them and others who had shown great 
merit. That was the beginning of a form of worship 
which is practiced to this day by some Asiatics. 

The Toltecs were the third Atlantean Eace. They car- 
ried still further the ideas of their predecessors, inaugurat- 
ing Monarchy and Hereditary Succession. The Toltecs 
originated the custom of honoring men for the deeds done 
by their ancestors, but there was then a very good reason 
for so doing. Because of the peculiar training at that 
time, the father had the power to bestow his qualities upon 
his son in a way impossible to mankind at the present time. 

The education consisted of calling up before the soul of 
the child pictures of the different phases of life. The con- 



296 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sciousness of the early Atlantean was, as yet, principally 
an internal picture-consciousness. The power of the edu- 
cator to call up these pictures before the soul of the child 
was the determining factor upon which depended the soul- 
qualities that would be possessed by the grown man. The 
instinct and not the reason was appealed to and aroused, 
and by this method of education the son, in the great ma- 
jority of cases, readily absorbed the qualities of the father. 
It is thus evident that there was at that time good reason 
for bestowing honor upon the descendants of great men, 
because the son almost always inherited most of his father's 
good qualities. Unfortunately, that is not the case in our 
time, although we still follow the same practice of honor- 
ing the sons of great men ; but we have no reason whatever 
for doing so. 

Among the Toltecs, experience came to be highly valued. 
The man who had gained the most varied experience was 
the most honored and sought. Memory was then so great 
and accurate that our present memory is nothing in com- 
parison. In an emergency, a Toltec of wide practical ex- 
perience would be very likely to remember similar cases 
in the past, and suggest what action should be taken. Thus 
he became a valuable adviser to the community when a 
situation developed which none of the members had pre- 
viously encountered and they were unable to think or rea- 
son from analogy as to how to deal promptly with the 
emergency. When such an individual was not available, 
they were compelled to experiment in order to find what 
was best to do. 

In the middle third of Atlantis we find the beginning 
of separate nations. Groups of people who discovered in 
one another similar tastes and habits would leave their 
old homes and found a new colony. They remembered the 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 397 

old customs and followed them in their new homes as far 
as they suited, forming new ones to meet their own par- 
ticular ideas and necessities. 

The Leaders of mankind initiated great Kings at that 
time to rule the people, over whom they were given great 
power. The masses honored these kings with all the rever- 
ence due to those who were thus truly Kings "by the grace 
of God." This happy state, however, had in it the germ of 
disintegration, for in time the Kings became intoxicated 
with power. They forgot that it had been put into their 
hands by the grace of God, as a sacred trust; that they 
were made Kings for the purpose of dealing justly by and 
helping the people. They began to use their power cor- 
ruptly, for selfish ends and personal aggrandizement in- 
stead of for the common good, arrogating to themselves 
privileges and authorities never intended for them. Ambi- 
tion and selfishness ruled them and they abused their high, 
divinely derived powers, for purposes of oppression and 
revenge. This was true, not only of the Kings, but also 
of the nobles and the higher classes, and when one con- 
siders the power possessed by them over their fellow- 
beings of the less developed classes, it is easy to under- 
stand that its misuse would bring about terrible conditions. 

The Original Turanians were the fourth Atlantean Eace. 
They were especially vile in their abominable selfishness. 
They erected temples where the Kings were worshiped as 
gods, and caused the extreme oppression of the helpless 
lower classes. Black magic of the worst and most nauseat- 
ing kind flourished and all their efforts were directed 
towards the gratification of vanity and external display. 

The Original Semites were the fifth and most important 
of the seven Atlantean Eaces, because in them we find the 
first germ of the corrective quality of Thought. Therefore 



298 EOSICRtJCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the Original Semitic Eace became the '^seed-race" for the 
seven Eaces of the present Aryan Epoch. 

In the Polarian Epoch man acquired the dense body as 
an instrument of action. In the Hyperborean Epoch the 
vital body was added to give power of motion necessary to 
action. In the Lemurian Epoch the desire body furnished 
incentive to action. 

The mind was given to man in the Atlantean Epoch to 
giYQ purpose to action, but as the Ego was exceedingly 
weak and the desire nature strong, the nascent mind 
coalesced with the desire body; the faculty of Cunning re- 
sulted and was the cause of all the wickedness of the mid- 
dle third of the Atlantean Epoch. 

In the Aryan Epoch Thought and Eeason were to be 
evolved by the work of the Ego in the mind to conduct 
Desire into channels leading to the attainment of spiritual 
perfection, which is the Goal of Evolution. This faculty 
of Thought and of forming Ideas was gained by man at 
the expense of loss of control over the vital forces — i. e., 
power over Nature. 

With Thought and Mind man can at present exercise 
power over the chemicals and minerals only, for his mind 
is now in the first or mineral stage of its evolution, as was 
his dense body in the Saturn Period. He can exercise no 
power over plant or animal life. Wood and various 
vegetable substances, together with different parts of the 
animals, are used by man in his industries. These sub- 
stances are all in the final analysis chemical matter en- 
souled by mineral life, of which the bodies in all the king- 
doms are composed, as previously explained. Over all these 
varieties of chemical mineral combinations man at his 
present stage may have dominion, but until he has reached 
the Jupiter Period, that dominion will not be extended so 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 299 

that lie can work with life. In that Period, however, he 
will have the power to work with plant life as the Angels 
do at present in the Earth Period. 

Material scientists have labored for many years in an 
endeavor to "create" life, but they will not succeed until 
they have learned that they must approach the laboratory 
table with the deepest reverence, as they would draw near 
to the altar in a Temple — with purity of heart and with 
holy hands, devoid of greed and selfish ambition. 

Such is the wise decision of the Elder Brothers, who 
guard this and all the deep secrets of Nature until man 
shall be fit to use them for the uplifting of the race — for 
the glory of God and not for personal profit or self-ag- 
grandizement. 

It was, however, this very loss of power over the vital 
forces which the Atlanteans suffered that made it possible 
for man to evolve further. After that, no matter how great 
his selfishness became, it could not prove absolutely de- 
structive of himself and of Nature, as would have been the 
case had the growing selfishness been accompanied by the 
great power possessed by man in his innocent former state. 
Thought that works only in man is powerless to command 
Nature and can never endanger humanity, as would be 
possible were Nature's forces under man's control. 

The Original Semites regulated their desires to some 
extent by the mind, and instead of mere desire, came cun- 
ning and craftiness — the means by which those people 
sought to attain their selfish ends. Though they were a 
very turbulent people, they learned to curb their passions 
to a great extent and accomplish their purposes by the use 
of cunning, as being more subtle and potent than mere 
brute strength. They were the first to discover that 
*'brain" is superior to "brawn." 



300 EOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

During the existence of this Race, the atmosphere of 
Atlantis commenced to clear definitely, and the previously- 
mentioned point in the vital body united with the corre- 
sponding point in the dense body. This combination of 
events gave man the ability to see objects clearly with 
sharp, well-defined contours; but it also resulted in loss 
of the sight pertaining to the inner Worlds. 

Thus we see, and it may be well to definitely state it as 
a law: No progress is ever made that is not gained at the 
cost of some previously possessed faculty, which is later 
regained in a higher form. 

Man built brain at the expense of the temporary loss of 
the power to bring forth offspring from himself alone. In 
order to get the instrument wherewith to guide his dense 
body, he became subject to all the difficulty, sorrow and 
pain which is involved in the co-operation necessary to the 
perpetuation of the race; he obtained his reasoning power 
at the cost of the temporary loss of his spiritual insight. 

While reason benefited him in many ways, it shut from 
his vision the soul of things which had previously spoken 
to him, and the gaining of the intellect which is now man's 
most precious possession was at first but sadly contem- 
plated by the Atlantean, who mourned the loss of spiritual 
sight and power which marked its acquisition. 

The exchange of spiritual powers for physical faculties 
was necessary, however, in order that man might be able 
to function, independent of outside guidance, in the Phys- 
ical World which he must conquer. In time his higher 
powers will be regained when, by means of his experiences 
in his journey through the denser Physical World, he has 
learned to use them properly. When he possessed them, 
he had no knowledge of their proper use, and they were 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 301 

too precious and too dangerous to be used as toys, with 
which to experiment. 

Under the guidance of a great Entity, the Original 
Semitic Race was led eastward from the continent of At- 
lantis, over Europe, to the great waste in Central Asia 
which is known as the Gobi Desert. There it prepared 
them to be the seed of the seven Baces of the Aryan Epoch, 
imbuing them potentially with the qualities to be evolved 
by their descendants. 

During all the previous ages — from the commencement 
of the Saturn Period, through the Sun and Moon Periods, 
and in the three and one-half Revolutions of the Earth 
Period (the Polarian, Hyperborean, Lemurian, and earlier 
part of the Atlantean Epochs) — man had been led and 
guided by higher Beings, without the slightest prerogative. 
In those days he was unable to guide himself, not yet hav- 
ing evolved a mind of his own; but at last the time had 
come when it was necessary for his further development 
that he should begin to guide himself. He must learn 
independence and assume responsibility for his own actions. 
Hitherto he had been compelled to obey the commands of 
his Ruler; now his thoughts were to be turned from the 
visible Leaders, the Lords from Venus, whom he wor- 
shipped as messengers from the gods — to the idea of the 
true God, the invisible Creator of the System. Man was 
to learn to worship and obey the commands of a God he 
could not see. 

Their Leader therefore called the people together and 
delivered a soul-stirring oration, which might be thus ex- 
pressed : 

Hitherto you have seen those who led you, but there are 
Leaders of varying grades of splendor, higher than They, 



302 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Whom you have not seen, Who guided your every tottering 
step in the evolution of consciousness. 

Exalted above all these glorious Beings stands the invis- 
ible God Who has created the heaven, and the earth upon 
which you dwell. He has willed to give you dominion over 
all this land, that you may be fruitful and multiply in it. 

This invisible God only, must you worship, but you must 
worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and not make any 
graven image of Him, nor use any likeness to picture Him 
to yourselves, because He is everywhere present, and is 
beyond any comparison or similitude. 

If you follow His precepts. He will bless you abundantly 
in all good. If you stray from His ways, evil will follow. 
The choice is yours. You are free ; but you must endure 
the consequences of your own actions. 

The education of man proceeds by four great steps. 
First, he is worked upon from without, unconsciously. 
Then he is placed under the Eulership of Divine Messen- 
gers and Kings whom he sees, and whose commands he 
must obey. Next he is taught to revere the commands of 
a God whom he does not see. Finally, he learns to rise 
above commands; to become a law unto himself; and, by 
conquering himself of his own free will, to live in harmony 
with the Order of Nature, which is the Law of God. 

Fourfold also are the steps by which man climbs up- 
ward to God. 

First, through fear, he worships the God whom he begins 
to sense, sacrificing to propitiate Him, as do the fetish- 
worshipers. 

Next, he learns to look to God as the Giver of all things, 
and hopes to receive from Him material benefits here and 
now. He sacrifices through avarice, expecting that the 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 303 

Lord will repay an hundredfold, or to escape swift punish- 
ment by plague, war, etc. 

Next, he is taught to worship God by prayer and the liv- 
ing of a good life; and that he must cultivate faith in a 
Heaven where he will be rewarded in the future; and to 
abstain from evil that he may escape a future punishment 
in Hell. 

At last he comes to a point where he can do right with- 
out any thought of reward, bribe, or punishment, but sim- 
ply because "it is right to do right." He loves right for 
its own sake and seeks to govern his conduct thereby, re- 
gardless of present benefit or injury, or of painful results 
at some future time. 

The Original Semites had reached the second of these 
steps. They were taught to worship an invisible God and 
to expect to be rewarded by material benefits, or punished 
by painful afflictions. 

Popular Christianity is at the third step. Esoteric 
Christians, and the pupils of all occult schools are trying 
to reach the highest step, w^hich will be generally achieved 
in the Sixth Epoch, the New Galilee, when the unifying 
Christian religion will open the hearts of men, as their 
understanding is being opened now. 

The Akadians were the sixth and the Mongolians the 
seventh of the Atlantean Eaces. They evolved the faculty 
of thought still further, but followed lines of reasoning 
which deviated more and more from the main trend of the 
developing life. The Chinese Mongolians maintain to this 
day that the old ways are the best. Progress constantly 
requires new methods and adaptability, keeping ideas in 
a fluid state, therefore those races fell behind and are de- 
generating, with the remainder of the Atlantean Eaces. 

As the heavy fogs of Atlantis condensed more and more, 



304 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the increased quantity of water gradually inundated that 
continent, destroying the greater part of the population 
and the evidences of their civilization. 

Great numbers were driven from the doomed continent 
by the floods, and wandered across Europe. The Mon- 
golian races are the descendants of those Atlantean refu- 
gees. The Negroes and the savage races with curly hair, 
are the last remnants of the Lemurians. 

The Aryan Epoch. 

Central Asia was the cradle of the Aryan Races, who 
descended from the Original Semites. Thence have the 
different Races gone out. It is unnecessary to describe 
them here, as historical researches have sufficiently re- 
vealed their main features. 

In the present (the Fifth or Aryan) Epoch, man came 
to know the use of fire and other forces, the divine origin 
of which was purposely withheld from him, that he might 
be free to use them for higher purposes or his own devel- 
opment. Therefore we have in this present Epoch two 
classes: One looks upon this Earth and upon man as be- 
ing of divine origin ; the other sees all things from a purely 
utilitarian viewpoint. 

The most advanced among humanity at the beginning of 
the Aryan Epoch were given the higher Initiations, that 
they might take the place of the messengers, of God, i. e., 
the Lords of Venus. Such human Initiates were from this 
time forth the only mediators between God and man. Even 
they do not appear publicly nor show any signs and won- 
ders that they were Leaders and Teachers. Man was left 
entirely free to seek them or not, as he desired. 

At the end of our present Epoch the highest Initiate 
will appear publicly, when a sufficient number of ordinary 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 305 

humanity desire, and will voluntarily subject themselves 
to such a Leader. They will thus form the nucleus for the 
last Race, which will appear at the beginning of the Sixth 
Epoch. After that time races and nations will cease to 
exist. Humanity will form one spiritual Fellowship as 
before the end of the Lemurian Epoch. 

The names of the Races which have spread over the 
Earth during the Fifth Epoch, up to the present time, 
are as follow : 

1. — The Aryan, which went south to India, 

2. — The Babylonian-Assyrian-Chaldean. 

3. — The Persian-Graeco-Latin. 

4.— The Celtic. 

5. — ^The Teutonic-Anglo-Saxon (to which we 
belong). 
From the mixture of the different nations now taking 
place in the United States will come the "Seed'' for the 
last Race, in the beginning of the Sixth Epoch. 

Two more Races will be evolved in our present Epoch, 
one of them being the Slav. When, in the course of a few 
hundred years, the Sun, because of the precession of the 
equinoxes, shall have entered the sign Aquarius, the Riis- 
sian people and the Slav Races in general will reach a 
degree of spiritual development which will advance them 
far beyond their present condition. Music will be the 
chief factor in bringing this about, for on the wings of 
music the soul which is attuned may fly to the very 
Throne of God, where the mere intellect cannot reach. 
Development attained in that manner, however, is not 
permanent, because it is one-sided, therefore not in har- 
mony with the law of evolution, which demands that 
development, to be permanent, must be evenly balanced — 
in other words, that spirituality shall evolve through, or 



306 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

at least equally with, intellect. For this reason the Slavic 
civilization will be short-lived, but it will be great and 
joyful while it lasts, for it is being born of deep sorrow 
and untold suffering, and the law of Compensation will 
bring the opposite in due time. 

"From the Slavs will descend a people which will form 
the last of the seven Races of the Aryan Epoch, and from 
the people of the United States will descend the last of 
all the Races in this scheme of evolution, which will run 
its course in the beginning of the Sixth Epoch. 

The Sixteen Paths to Destruction. 

The sixteen Races are called the ^^Sixteen paths to 
destruction" because there is always, in each Race, a 
ganger that the soul may become too much attached to 
the Race; that it may become so enmeshed in Race-char- 
acteristics it cannot rise above the race-idea, and will 
therefore fail to advance ; that it may, so to speak, crystal- 
lize into that Race and consequently be confined to the 
Race-bodies when they start to degenerate, as happened to 
the Jews. 

In Periods, Revolutions, and Epochs where there are 
no Races, there is much more time, and the likelihood of 
becoming fossilized is not so great, nor so frequent. But 
the sixteen Races are born and die in such a relatively 
short time there is grave danger that the one who gets too 
much attached to conditions may be left behind. 

Christ is the great unifying Leader of the Sixth Epoch, 
and He enunciated this law when He uttered those little- 
understood words: "If any man come to me, and hate 
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and 
brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot 
be my disciple. 



EVOLUTION ON THE EARTH 307 

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after 
me, cannot be my disciple. 

"... whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not 
all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." 

Not that we are to leave, nor underestimate family 
ties, but that we are to rise above them. Father and 
mother are "bodies"; all relations are part of the Eace — • 
which belongs to Form. The souls must recognize that 
they are not Bodies, nor Eaces, but Egos striving for per- 
fection. If a man forgets this, and identifies himself with 
his Eace — clinging to it with fanatic patriotism — ^he is 
likely to become enmeshed in and sink with it when his 
compeers have passed to greater heights on the Path of 
Attainment. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
Back to the Bible. 

IN our age the missionary spirit is strong. The West- 
ern churches are sending missionaries all over the 
world to convert the people of every nation to a belief 
in their creeds; nor are they alone in their proselyting 
efforts. The East has commenced a strong invasion of 
Western fields^ and many Christians who have become 
dissatisfied with the creeds and dogmas taught by the 
clergy and impelled to search for truth to satisfy the de- 
• mands of the intellect for an adequate explanation of the 
problems of life, have familiarized themselves with, and 
in many cases accepted, the Eastern teachings of Bud- 
dhism, Hinduism, etc. 

From an occult point of view, this missionary effort, 
whether from East to West or vice versa, is not desirable, 
because it is contrary to the trend of evolution. The great 
Leaders of humanity Who are in charge of our develop- 
ment give us every aid necessary to that end. Religion 
is one of these aids, and there are excellent reasons why 
the Bible, containing not only the one, but both the 
Jewish and Christian religions, should have been given 
to the West. If we earnestly seek for light we shall see 
the Supreme Wisdom which has given us this double 
religion and how no other religion of the present day is 
Buitable to our peculiar needs. To this end we will in this 

308 



BACK TO THE BIBLE } 309 



chapter touch again upon certain points previously 
brought out in various places and connections. 

In the Polarian, Hyperborean and Lemurian Epochs 
the task of leading humanity was a comparatively easy one, 
for man was then without mind, but when that disturbing 
element came in during the first part of the Atlantt^an 
Epoch, he developed Cunning, which is tho product o; the 
mind unchecked by the spirit. Cunning acts as -an aid 
to desire, regardless of whether the desire is good or bad, 
whether it will bring joy or sorrow. 

In the middle of the Atlantean Epoch the spirit had 
drawn completely into its vehicles and commenced to work 
in the mind to produce Thought and Iicason: the ability 
to trace a given cause to it,-^ inevitable effect, and to 
deduce from a given effect the cause which produced it. 
This faculty of Eeasoning or Logic was to become more 
fully developed in the Aryan Epoch, and therefore the 
Original Semites (the fifth race of the Atlantean Epoch) 
were a "chosen people," to bring out that germinal faculty 
to such a ripeness that it would be impregnated into the 
very fibre of their descendants, who would thus become the 
New Eace. 

To transmute Cunning into Eeason proved no easy task. 
The earlier changes in man's nature had been easily 
brought about. He could then be led without difficulty 
because he had no conscious desires, nor mind to guide 
him, but by the time of the Original Semites he had 
become cunning enough to resent limitations of his liberty 
and to circumvent repeatedly the measures taken to hold 
him in line. The task of guiding him was all the more 
difficult because it was necessary he should have some lib- 
erty of choice, that he might in time learn self-govern- 
ment. Therefore a law was enacted which decreed imme- 



310 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

tliate rewards for obedience and instant punishment for 
disregard of its provisions. Thus was man taught, coaxed 
and coerced into reasoning in a limited manner that "the 
way 01 the transgressor is hard," and that he must "fear 
God/' or the Leader Who guided him. 

Out of ail who were chosen as "seed" for the new Eace, 
but few remained faithful. * Most of them were rebellious 
and, so far. as they were concerned, entirely frustrated the 
purpose of the Leader by intermarrying with the other 
Atlantean Races, thus bringing inferior blood into their 
descendants. That is what is meant in the Bible where 
the fact is recorded thai: the sons of God married the 
daughters of men. For that act of disobedience were they 
abandoned and "lost." Even the faithful died, according 
to the body, in the Desert of Gobi (the "Wilderness") in 
•Central Asia, the cradle of our present Eace. They rein- 
carnated, as their own descendants of course, and thus 
inherited the "Promised Land," the Earth as it is now. 
They are the Aryan Eaces, in whom Eeason is being 
evolved to perfection. 

The rebellious ones who were abandoned are the Jews, 
of whom the great majority are still governed more by the 
Atlantean faculty of Cunning than by Eeason. In them 
the race-feeling is so strong that they distinguish only 
two classes of people : Jews and Gentiles. They despise the 
other nations and are in turn despised by them for their 
cunning, selfishness and avarice. It is not denied that 
they give to charity, but it is principally, if not exclusively, 
among their own people and rarely internationally, as 
was done in the case of the earthquake disaster in Italy, 
where barriers of creed, race and nationality were for- 
gotten in the human feeling of sympathy. 

In such cases as that and the San Francisco disaster, the 



BACK TO THE BIBLE 311 

inner spiritual nature of man becomes more in evidence 
than under any other circumstances, and the close observer 
may then discern the trend of evolution. The fact then 
becomes manifest that though in the stress of ordinary life 
our actions may deny it, nevertheless at heart we know and 
acknowledge the great truth that we are brothers and the 
hurt of one is really felt by all. Such incidents, therefore, 
point out the direction of evolution. The control of man 
by Reason must be succeeded by that of Love, which at 
present acts independent of and sometimes even contrary 
to the dictates of Eeason. This anomaly arises from 
the fact that Love, at present, is rarely quite unselfish 
and our Eeason is not always true. In the "New Galilee," 
the coming Sixth Epoch, Love will become unselfish and 
Eeason will approve its dictates. Universal Brotherhood 
shall then be fully realized, each working for the good of 
all, because self-seeking will be a thing of the past. 

That this much-to-be-desired end may be attained, it 
will be necessary to select another "chosen people" from 
the present stock to serve as a nucleus from which the 
new Eace shall spring. This choosing is not to be done 
contrary to the will of the chosen. Each man must choose 
for himself; he must willingly enter the ranks. 

Races are but an evanescent feature of evolution. Be- 
fore the end of the Lemurian Epoch there was a "chosen 
people," different from the ordinary humanity of that 
time, who became the ancestors of the Atlantean Eaces. 
From the fifth race of those another "chosen people" was 
drawn, from which the Aryan Eaces descended, of which 
there have been five and will be two more. Before a new 
Epoch is ushered in, however, there must be "a new heaven 
and a new earth"; the physical features of the Earth will 
be changed and its density decreased. There will be one 



f^ 



312 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION 

Race at the beginning of the next Epoch, but after that 
every thought and feeling of Race will disappear. Human- 
ity will again constitute one vast Fellowship, regardless of 
all distinctions. Races are simply steps in evolution which 
must be taken, otherwise there will be no progress for the 
spirits incarnating in them. But, though necessary steps, 
they are also extremely dangerous ones, and are therefore 
the cause of grave concern to the Leaders of mankind. 
They call these sixteen Races "the sixteen paths to destruc- 
tion" because, while in previous Epochs the changes came 
after such enormous intervals that it was easier to get 
the majority of the entities in line for promotion, it is 
different with the Races. They are comparatively eva- 
nescent; therefore extra care must be taken that as few of 
the spirits as possible become enmeshed in the fetters of 
Race. 

This is exactly what happened to the spirits incarnated 
in the Jewish Race-bodies. They attached themselves so 
firmly to the Race that they are drawn back into it in 
successive incarnations. "Once a Jew, always a Jew" is 
their slogan. They have entirely forgotten their spiritual 
nature and glory in the material fact of being "Abraham's 
seed." Therefore they are neither "fish nor flesh." They 
have no part in the advancing Aryan Race and yet they 
are beyond those remnants of the Lemurian and Atlantean 
peoples which are still with us. They have become a people 
without a country, an anomaly among mankind. 

Because of their bondage to the Race-idea, their one- 
time Leader was forced to abandon them, and they became 
"lost." That they might cease to regard themselves as 
separate from other peoples, other nations were stirred up 
against them at various times by the Leaders of humanity 
and they were led captive from the country where they had 



BACK TO THE BIBLE 313 

settled, but in vain. They stubbornly refused to amalga- 
mate with others. Again and again they returned in a 
body to their arid land. Prophets of their own Race were 
raised up who mercilessly rebuked them and predicted dire 
disaster, but without avail. 

As a final effort to persuade them to cast off the fetters 
of Race, we have the seeming anomaly that the Leader 
of the coming Race, the Great Teacher Christ, appeared 
among the Jews. This still further shows the compassion 
and Wisdom of the great Beings Who guide evolution. 
Among all the Races of the Earth, none other was "lost" 
in the same sense as the Jews ; none other so sorely needed 
help. To send them a stranger, not one of their own Race, 
would have been manifestly useless. It was a foregone 
conclusion that they would have rejected him. As the 
great spirit known as Booker T. Washington incarnated 
among the negroes, to be received by them as one of them- 
selves, and thus enabled to enlighten them as no white man 
could, so the great Leaders hoped that the appearance of 
Christ among the Jews as one of their own might bring 
them to accept Him and His teachings and thus draw them 
out of the meshes of the Race-bodies. But sad it is 
to see how human prejudice can prevail. "He came unto 
His own and" they chose Barabbas. He did not glory 
in Abraham, nor any other of their ancient traditions. 
He spoke of "another world," of a new earth, of Love and 
Forgiveness, and repudiated the doctrine of "an eye for 
and eye." He did not call them to arms against Caesar; 
had He done so, they would have hailed Him as a deliverer. 
In that respect He was misunderstood even by His dis- 
ciples, who mourned as greatly over their vanished hope 
of an earthly. kingdom as over the Friend slain by Roman 
hands. 



314 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The rejection of Christ by the Jews was the supreme 
proof of their thralldom to Kace. Thenceforth all efforts 
to save them as a whole by giving them special prophets 
and teachers, were abandoned and, as the futility of exiling 
them in a body had been proven, they were, as a last 
expedient, scattered among all the nations of the earth. 
Despite all, however, the extreme tenacity of this people 
has prevailed even to the present day, the majority being 
yet orthodox. In America, however, there is now a slight 
falling away. The younger generation is commencing to 
marry outside the Eace. In time, an increasing number 
of bodies, with fewer and fewer of the Eace characteristics, 
will thus be provided for the incarnating spirits of the 
Jews of the past. In this manner will they be saved in 
spite of themselves. They became "lost" by marrying into 
inferior Eaces; they will be saved by amalgamating with 
those more advanced. 

As the present Aryan Eaces are reasoning human beings, 
capable of profiting by past experience, the logical means 
of helping them is by telling them of past stages of growth 
and the fate that overtook the disobedient Jews. Those 
rebels had a written record of how their Leaders had dealt 
with them. It set forth how they had been chosen and 
rebelled ; were punished ; but were yet hopeful of ultimate 
redemption. That record may be profitably used by us, 
that we may learn how not to act. It is immaterial that, 
in the course of ages, it has become mutilated, and that the 
Jews of today are still under the delusion of being a 
"chosen people"; the lesson that may be drawn from their 
experience is none the less valid. We may learn how a 
"chosen people" may harass their Leader, frustrate His 
plans, and become bound to a Eace for ages. Their ex- 
perience should be a warning to any future "chosen peo- 



BACK TO THE BIBLE 315 

pie." This Paul points out in unmistakable terms (Heb. 
ii : 3-4) ; "For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, 
and every transgression and disobedience received a just 
recompense of reward. How shall we escape if we neglect 
so great salvation?" and Paul was speaking to Christians, 
for the Hebrews to whom he wrote this were converted, had 
accepted Christ and were people whom he expected would, 
in some future incarnation, be among the new "chosen 
people," who would iviUingly follow a Leader and evolve 
the faculty of Love and spiritual perception, the intuition 
which shall succeed self-seeking and Reason. 

The Christian teaching of the New Testament belongs 
particularly to the pioneer Paces of the Western World. 
It is being specially implanted among the people of the 
United States, for as the object of the new Pace of 
the Sixth Epoch will be the unification of all the Paces, the 
United States is becoming the "melting-pot" where all 
the nations of the earth are being amalgamated, and from 
this amalgamation will the next "chosen people," the 
nucleus, be chiefly derived. 

Those spirits, from all countries of the earth, who have 
striven to follow the teachings of the Christ, consciously 
or otherwise, will be incarnated here, for the purpose of 
giving them conditions suitable for that development. 
Hence the American-born Jew is different from the Jew 
of other countries. The very fact that he has incarnated 
in the Western World shows that he is becoming emanci- 
pated from the Pace-spirit, and is consequently in advance 
of the crystallized Old World orthodox Jew, as were his 
parents, or they would not have conceived the idea of sever- 
ing the old ties and moving to America. Therefore the 
American-born Jew is the pioneer who will prepare 
the path which his compatriots will follow later. 



316 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Thus we can see that the Bible contains the teaching 
peculiarly needed by the Western peoples, that they may be 
taught a lesson by the awful example of the Jewish Kace 
as recorded in the Old Testament, and learn to live by 
the teachings of the Christ in the New, willingly offering 
up their bodies as a living sacrifice upon the altar of Fel- 
lowship and Love. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

The Occult Analysis of Genesis. 

Limitations of the Bible. 

IN our study thus far, previous to Chapter XIII, com- 
paratively little reference has been made to the Bible, 
but we shall now devote our attention to it for some 
time. Not that it is intended to attempt a vindication of 
the Bible (in the form in which it is commonly known 
to us at the present day) as the only true and inspired 
Word of God, nevertheless it is true that it contains much 
valuable occult knowledge. This is, to a great extent, 
hidden beneath interpolations and obscured by the arbi- 
trary withholding of certain parts as being "apocryphal.^^ 
The occult scientist, who knows the intended meaning, 
can, of course, easily see which portions are original and 
which have been interpolated. Yet, if we take the first 
chapter of Genesis even as it stands, in the best transla- 
tions we possess, we shall find that it unfolds the identical 
scheme of evolution which has been explained in the pre- 
ceding portion of this work and harmonizes quite well 
with the occult information in regard to Periods, Revo- 
lutions, Races, etc. The outlines given are necessarily 
of the briefest and most condensed character, an entire 
Period being covered in a score of words — nevertheless, the 
outlines are there. 

Before proceeding with an analysis it is necessary to 

317 



318 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

say that the words of the Hebrew language, particularly 
the old style, run into one another and are not divided as 
are those of our language. Add to this that there is a 
custom of leaving out vowels from the writing, so that in 
reading much depends upon where and how they are 
inserted, and it will be seen how great are thS difficulties 
to be surmounted in ascertaining the original meaning. 
A slight change may entirely alter the signification of 
almost any sentence. 

In addition to these great difficulties we must also 
bear in mind that of the forty-seven translators of. the 
King James' version (that most commonly used in Eng- 
land and America), only three were Hebrew scholars, and 
of those three, two died before the Psalms had been trans- 
lated ! We must still further take into consideration that 
the Act which authorized the translation prohibited the 
translators from any rendition that would greatly deviate 
from or tend to disturb the already existing belief. It 
is evident, therefore, that the chances of getting a correct 
translation were very small indeed. 

Nor were conditions much more favorable in Germany, 
for there Martin Luther was the sole translator and even 
he did not translate from the original Hebrew, but merely 
from a Latin text. Most of the versions used in Conti- 
nental Protestant countries today are simply translations, 
into the different languages, of Luther's translation. 

True, there have been revisions, but they have not 
greatly improved matters. Moreover, there is a large num- 
ber of people in this country who insist that the English 
text of the King James version is absolutely correct from 
cover to cover, as though the Bible had been originally 
written in English, and the King James version were a 
certified copy of the original manuscript. So the old 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 319 

mistakes are still there^, in spite of the efforts which have 
been made to eradicate them. 

It must also be noted that those who originally wrote 
the Bible did not intend to give out the truth in such 
plain form that he who ran might read. Nothing was 
further from their thoughts than to write an ^^open book 
of God.'^ The great occultists who wrote the Zohar are 
very emphatic upon this point. The secrets of the Thorah 
were not to be understood at all, as the following quotation 
will show: 

"Woe to the man who sees in the Thorah (the law) 
only simple recitals and ordinary words ! Because, if in 
truth it contained only these, we would even today be able 
to compose a Thorah much more worthy of admiration. 
But it is not so. Each word of the Thorah contains an 
elevated meaning and a sublime mystery. . . . The 
recitals of the Thorah are the vestments of the Thorah. 
Woe to him who takes this vestment of the Thorah for 
the Thorah itself ! . . . The simple take notice of the 
garments and recitals of the Thorah alone. They know 
no other thing. They see not that which is concealed 
under the vestment. The more instructed men do not 'pay 
attention to the vestment, but to the body which it en- 
velops." 

In the preceding words the allegorical meanings are 
plainly implied. Paul also unequivocally says that the 
story of Abraham and the two sons whom he had by Sarah 
and Hagar is purely allegorical (Gal. iv:22-26). Many 
passages are veiled; others are to be taken verbatim; and 
no one who has not the occult key is able to find the deep 
truth hidden in what is often a very hideous garment. 

The secrecy regarding these deep matters and the in- 
variable use of allegories where the mass of the people 



320 BOSICBUCIAX COSMO-CONCEPTION 

were permitted to come in contact with occult truths will 
also be apparent from the practice of Christ, who always 
spoke to the multitude in parables, afterward privately 
explaining to His disciples the deeper meaning contained 
therein. On several occasions He imposed secrecy upon 
them with regard to such private teachings. 

Paul's methods are also in harmony with this, for he 
gives *^Uk" or the more elementary teaching to the 
'*'babes" in the faith, reserving the "meat" or deeper teach- 
ing for the "strong^' — those who had qualified themselves 
to understand and receive them. 

The Jewish Bible was originally written in Hebrew, 
but we do not possess one single line of the original writ- 
ings. As early as 2S0 B. C. the Septuagint, a translation 
into Greek, was brought forth. Even in the time of Christ 
there was already the utmost confusion and diversity of 
opinio:^ regarding what was to be admitted as original, 
and what had been interpolated. 

It was not until the return from the Babylonian exile 
that the scribes began to piece together the different writ- 
ings, and not until about 500 A. D. did the Talmud ap- 
pear, giving the first text resembling the present one, 
which, in view of the foregoing facts, cannot be perfect. 

The Talmud was then taken in hand by the Masorete 
school, which from 590 to about 800 A. D. was principally 
in Tiberias. With great and painstaking labor, a Hebrew 
Old Testament was produced, which is the nearest to the 
original we have at the present time. 

This Masoretic text will be used in the following elucida- 
tion of Genesis, and, not relying upon the work of one 
translator, it will be supplemented by a German transla- 
tion, the work of three eminent Hebrew scholars — H. Arn- 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 321 

heim, M. Sachs, and JuL Furst, who co-operated with a 
fourth, Dr. Zunz, the latter being also the editor. 

In the Beginning 

The opening sentence of Genesis is a very good example 
of what has been stated about the interpretation of the 
Hebrew text, which may be changed by differently placing 
the vowels and dividing the words in another way. 

There are two well-recognized methods of reading this 
sentence. One is: "In the beginning God created the 
heavens and the earth"; the other is: "Out of the ever- 
existing essence [of space] the twofold energy formed the 
double heaven.^' 

Much has been said and written as to which of these 
two interpretations is correct. The difficulty is, that peo- 
ple want something settled and definite. They take the 
stand that, if a certain explanation is true, all others 
must be wrong. But, emphatically, this is not the way 
to get at truth, which is many sided and multiplex. Each 
occult truth requires examination from many different 
points of view; each viewpoint presents a certain phase 
of the truth, and all of them are necessary to get a com- 
plete, definite conception of whatever is under considera- 
tion. 

The very fact that this sentence and many others in the 
vestment of the Thorah can thus be made to yield many 
meanings, while confusing to the uninitiated, is illumina- 
tive to those who have the key, and the transcendental 
wisdom of the wonderful Intelligences Who inspired the 
Thorah is thereby shown. Had the vowels been inserted, 
and a division made into words, there would have been 
only one way of reading it and these grand and sublime 
mysteries could not have been hidden therein. That would 



322 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

have been the proper method to pursue if the authors had 
meant to write an "open" book of God; but that was not 
their purpose. It was written solely for the initiated, 
and can be read understandingly by them only. It would 
have required much less skill to have written the book 
plainly than to have concealed its meaning. No pains 
are ever spared, however, to bring the information, in due 
time, to those who are entitled to it, while withholding 
it from those who have not yet earned the right to pos- 
sess it. 

The Nebular Theory. 

Eegarded by the light thrown upon the genesis and 
evolution of our system, it is plain that both renderings of 
the opening sentence in the Book of Genesis are necessary 
to an understanding of the subject. The first tells that 
there was a beginning of our evolution, in which the 
heavens were created ; the other interpretation supplements 
the first statement by adding that the heavens and the 
earth were created out of the "ever-existing essence," not 
out of "nothing," as is jeeringly pointed out by the ma- 
terialist. The Cosmic Eoot-substance is gathered together 
and set in motion. The rings formed by the inertia of the 
revolving mass break away from the central part, forming 
planets, etc., as the modern scientist, with remarkable in- 
genuity, has reasoned out. Occult and modern science are 
in perfect harmony as to the modus operandi. There is 
nothing in these statements inconsistent with the two 
theories, as will presently be shown. Occult science teaches 
that God instituted the process of formation and is con- 
stantly guiding the System in a definite path. The modern 
scientist, in refutation of what he calls a foolish idea, and 
to demonstrate that a God is not necessary, takes a basin 



OaULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 323 

of water and pours a little oil into it. The water and the 
oil represent space and fire-mist respectively. He now 
commences to turn the oil around with a needle, bringing 
it into the form of a sphere. This, he explains, repre- 
sents the Central Sun. As he turns the oil-ball faster and 
faster, it bulges at the equator and throws off a ring; the 
ring breaks and the fragments coalesce, forming a smaller 
ball, which circles around the central mass as a planet 
circles around the Sun. Then he pityingly asks the occult 
scientist, "Do you not see how it is done? There is no 
need for your God, or any supernatural force.^' 

The occultist readily agrees that a Solar System may 
be formed in approximately the manner illustrated. But 
he marvels greatly that a man possessing the clear in- 
tuition enabling him to perceive with such accuracy the 
operation of Cosmic processes, and the intellect to con- 
ceive this brilliant demonstration of his monumental 
theory, should at the same time be quite unable to see 
that in his demonstration he himself plays the part of 
God. His was the extraneous power that placed the oil 
in the water, where it would have remained inert and 
shapeless through all eternity had he not supplied the 
force that set it in motion, thereby causing it to shape 
itself into a representation of Sun and planets. His was 
the Thought which designed the experiment, using the 
oil, water and force, thus illustrating in a splendid man- 
ner the Triune God working in Cosmic substance to form 
a Solar System. 

The attributes of God are Will, Wisdom, and Activity. 
(See diagram 6. Note carefully what the name "God" 
signifies in this terminology.) The scientist has Will to 
make the experiment. He has ingenuity to supply ways 
and means for the demonstration. This ingenuity corre- 



324 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sponds to Wisdom, the second attribute of God. He has 
also the muscular force necessary to perform the action, 
corresponding to Activity , which is the third attribute of 
God. 

Further, the universe is not a vast perpetual-motion ma- 
chine, which, when once set going, keeps on without any 
internal cause or guiding force. That also is proven by 
the experiment of the scientist, for the moment he ceases 
to turn the oil-ball the orderly motion of his miniature 
planets also ceases and all returns to a shapeless mass of 
oil floating on the water. In a corresponding manner, the 
universe would at once dissolve into "thin space" if God 
for one moment ceased to exert His all-embracing care 
and energizing activity. 

The second interpretation of Genesis is marvelously exact 
in its description of a twofold formative energy. It does 
not specifically state that God is Triune. The reader's 
knowledge of that fact is taken for granted. It states the 
exact truth when it says that only two forces are active in 
the formation of a universe. 

When the first aspect of the Triune God manifests as 
the Will to create. It arouses the second aspect (which is 
Wisdom) to design a plan for the future universe. This 
first manifestation of Force is Imagination. After this 
primal Force of Imagination has conceived the Idea of a 
universe, the third aspect (which is Activity), working in 
Cosmic substance, produces Motion. This is the .second 
manifestation of Force. Motion alone, however, is not 
sufficient. To form a system of worlds, it must be orderly 
motion. Wisdom is therefore necessary to guide Motion 
in an intelligent manner to produce definite results. 

Thus we find the opening sentence of the Book of 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 325 

Genesis tells us that in the beginning, orderly, rhythmic 
motion, in Cosmic Eoot-substance, formed the universe. 

The Creative Hierarchies. 

The second interpretation of the opening sentence also 
gives us a fuller idea of God when it speaks of the "two- 
fold energy," pointing to the positive and negative phases 
of the One Spirit of God in manifestation. In harmony 
with the teaching of occult science, God is represented as 
a composite Being. This is accentuated in the remaining 
verses of the chapter. 

In addition to the creative Hierarchies which worked 
voluntarily in our evolution, there are seven others which 
belong to our evolution, and are co-workers with God in 
the formation of the universe. In the first chapter of 
Genesis these Hierarchies are called "Elohim." The name 
signifies a host of dual or double-sexed Beings. The first 
part of the word is "Eloh," which is a feminine noim, the 
letter "h" indicating the gender. If a single feminine Be- 
ing were meant, the word "Eloh" would have been used. 
The feminine plural is "oth," so if the intention had been 
to indicate a number of Gods of the feminine gender, the 
correct word to use would have been "Elooth." Instead of 
either of those forms, however, we find the masculine, 
plural ending, "im," added to the feminine noun, "Eloh," 
indicating a host of male-female, double-sexed Beings, ex- 
pressions of the dual, positive-negative, creative energy. 

The plurality of Creators is again implied in the latter 
part of the chapter, where these words are ascribed to the 
Elohim: "Let us make man in our image;" after which 
it is inconsistently added, '^He made them male and fe- 
male." 

The translators have here rendered the puzzling word 



326 EOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

"Elohim" (which was decidedly not only a plural woiJ 
but also Ifoth masculine and feminine) as being the equiva- 
lent of the singular, sexless word, "God." Yet could they 
have done differently, even had they known? They were 
forbidden to disturb existing ideas. It was not truth at 
any price, but peace at any price that King James desired, 
his sole anxiety being to avoid any controversy that might 
create a disturbance in his kingdom. 

The plural "them" is also used where the creation of man 
is mentioned, clearly indicating that the reference is to 
the creation of ADM, the human species, and not Adam, 
the individual. 

We have shown that six creative Hierarchies (besides 
the Lords of Flame, the Cherubim, the Seraphim, and the 
two unnamed Hierarchies which have passed into libera- 
tion) were active in assisting the virgin spirits which in 
themselves form a seventh Hierarchy. 

The Cherubim and the Seraphim had nothing to do 
with the creation of Form ; therefore they are not men- 
tioned in the chapter under consideration, which deals 
principally with the Form-side of Creation. Here we 
find mentioned only the seven creative Hierarchies which 
did the actual work of bringing man to where he acquired 
a dense physical form, through which the indwelling spirit 
could work. 

After a description of each part of the work of Creation 
it is said: "and Elohim saw that it was good." .This is 
said seven times, the last time being on the sixth day, 
when the human form had been created. 

It is stated that on the seventh day "Elohim rested." 
This is all in accord with our occult teaching of the part 
taken by each of the creative Hierarchies in the work of 
evolution down to the present Period. It is also taught 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 327 

that in the present Epoch the Gods and creative 
Hierarchies have withdrawn from active participation, that 
man may work out his own salvation, leaving the neces- 
sary guidance of ordinary humanity to the "Elder 
Brothers,'' who are now the mediators between man and 
the Gods. 

The Saturn- Period. 

Having satisfied ourselves that the beginning of our 
System and the work of the creative Hierarchies, as de- 
scribed by occult science, harmonize with the teachings of 
the Bible, we will now examine the Bible account of the 
different "Days of Creation'' and see how they agree with 
the occult teachings relative to the Saturn, Sun, and Moon 
Periods; the three and one-half Eevolutions of the Earth 
Period; and the Polarian, Hyperborean, Lemurian, and 
Atlantean Epochs, which have preceded the present Aryan 
Epo'ch. 

Naturally, a detailed account could not be given in a 
few lines like the first chapter of Genesis, but the main 
points are there in orderly succession, very much like an 
algebraical formula for Creation. 

The second verse proceeds: "The Earth was waste and 
uninhabited, and darkness rested upon the face of the deep ; 
and the Spirits of the Elohim floated above the deep." In 
the beginning of manifestation that which is now the 
Earth was in the Saturn Period, and in exactly the condi- 
tion described, as may be seen by referring to the descrip- 
tions already given of that Period. It was not "without 
form and void," as expressed in the King James version. 
It was hot, and thus well-defined and separate from the 
deep of space, which was cold. It is true that it was 
dark, but it could be dark and still be hot, for "dark" 



328 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

heat necessarily precedes glowing or visible heat. Above 
this dark Earth of the Saturn Period floated the creative 
Hierarchies. They worked upon it from the outside and 
molded it. The Bible refers to them as the "Spirits of the 
Elohim.'' 

The Sun Period. 

The Siun Period is well described in the third verse, 
which says, "And the Elohim said, Let there be Light; 
and there was Light." This passage has been jeered at as 
the most ridiculous nonsense. The scornful query has been 
put. How could there be light upon the Earth when the 
Sun was not made until the fourth day? The Bible nar- 
rator, however, is not speaking of the Earth alone. He 
is speaking of the central "Fire-mist," from which were 
formed the planets of our system, including the Earth. 
Thus when the nebula reached a state of glowing heat, 
which it did in the Sun Period, there was no necessity 
for an outside illuminant; the Light was within. 

In the fourth verse we read : "The Elohim differentiated 
between the light and the darkness." Necessarily, for the 
outside space was dark, in contradistinction to the glow- 
ing nebula which existed during the Sun Period. 

The Moon Period. 

The Moon Period is described in the sixth verse, as fol- 
lows : "and Elohim said. Let there be an expansion (trans- 
lated "firmament" in other versions) in the waters, to di- 
vide the water from the water." This exactly describes 
conditions in the Moon Period, when the heat of the glow- 
ing fire-mist and the cold of outside space had formed a 
body of water around the fiery core. The contact of fire 
and water generated steam, which is water in expansion, 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 329 

as our verse describes. It was different from the com- 
paratively cool water, which constantly gravitated toward 
the hot, fiery core, to replace the outrushing steam. Thus 
there was a constant circulation of the water held in sus- 
pension, and also an expansion, as the steam, rushing 
outward from the fiery core, formed an atmosphere of 
"fire-fog" condensed by contact with outside space, 
returning again to the core to be reheated and perform 
another cycle. Thus there were two kinds of water, and 
a division between them, as stated in the Bible. The dense 
water was nearest the fiery core; the expanded water or 
steam was on the outside. 

This also harmonizes with the scientific theory of mod- 
ern times. First the dark heat; then the glowing nebula; 
later the outside moisture and inside heat; and, finally, 
incrustation. 

The Earth Period. 

The Earth Period is next described. Before we take 
up its description, however, we have to deal with the Ke- 
capitulations. The verses quoted and the descriptions given 
will also correspond to the recapitulatory Periods. Thus 
what is said of the Saturn Period describes also the con- 
dition of the System when it emerges from any of the rest 
Periods. The descriptions of the Saturn, Sun, and Moon 
Periods would therefore correspond to the first three Revo- 
lutions of our present Earth Period, and the following 
would correspond with conditions on Earth in the present 
Revolution. 

In the ninth verse, we read: "And Elohim said. Let 
the waters be divided from the dry land . . . and 
Elohim called the dry land Earth." This refers to the 



330 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

first firm incrustation. Heat and moisture had generated 
the solid body of our present Globe. 

The Polarian Epoch: The ninth verse, which describes 
the Earth Period in this fourth Revolution (where the 
real Earth Period work commenced), also describes the 
formation of the mineral kingdom and the Recapitulation 
by man of the mineral stage in the Polarian Epoch. Each 
Epoch is also a Recapitulation of the previous stage. Just 
as there are Recapitulations of Globes, Revolutions, and 
Periods, so there are on each Globe, recapitulations of all 
that has gone before. These Recapitulations are endless. 
There is always a spiral within a spiral — in the atom, in 
the Globe, and in all other phases of evolution. 

Complicated and bewildering as this may appear at 
first, it is really not so difficult to understand. There is 
an orderly method running through it all and in time one 
is able to perceive and follow the workings of this method, 
as ia clue leading through the maze. Analogy is one of the 
best helps to an understanding of evolution. 

The Hyperborean Epoch is described in verses 11 to 19, 
as the work of the fourth day. It' is here recorded that 
Elohim created the plant kingdom, the Sun, the Moon, 
and the stars. 

The Bible agrees with the teaching of modern science 
that plants succeeded the mineral. The difference be- 
tween the two teachings is in regard to the time when the 
Earth was thrown off from the central mass. Science as- 
serts that it was before the formation of any incrustation 
which could be called mineral and plant. If we mean 
such minerals and plants as we have today, that assertion 
is correct. There was no dense material substance, but 
nevertheless the first incrustation that took place in the 
central Sun was mineral. The Bible narrator gives only 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 331 

the principal incidents. It is not recorded that the in- 
crustation melted when it was thrown off from the central 
mass as a ring which broke, the fragments afterward 
coalescing. In a body as small as our Earth, the time re- 
quired for recrystallization was so comparatively short that 
the historian does not mention it, nor the further sub- 
sidiary fact that the melting process took place once more 
when the Moon was thrown off from the Earth. He prob- 
ably reasons that one who is entitled to occult information 
is already in possession of such minor details as those. 

The plants of the incrustation of the central fire-mist 
were ethereal, therefore the melting processes did not de- 
stroy them. As the lines of force along which the ice 
crystals form are present in the water, so when the Earth 
crystallized, were those ethereal plant-fonns present in it. 
They were the molds which drew to themselves the dense 
material forming the plant-bodies of the present day and 
also of the plant-forms of the past, which are embedded 
in the geological strata of our Earth globe. 

These ethereal plant-forms were aided in their forma- 
tion when the heat came from outside, after the separa- 
tion of the Earth from Sun and Moon. That heat gave 
them the vital force to draw to themselves the denser sub- 
stance. 

The Lemurian Epoch is described in the work of the 
fifth day. This Epoch, being the third, is in a sense a 
Eecapitulation of the Moon Period, and in the Biblical 
narrative we find described such conditions as obtained in 
the Moon Period — water, fire-fog, and the first attempts 
at moving, breathing life. 

Verses 20 and 21 tell us that "Elohim said. Let the 
waters bring forth life-breathing things . . . and 
fowl . . . ; and Elohim formed the great amphibians 



332 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

and all life-breathing things according to their species, and 
all fowl with wings." 

This also harmonizes with the teaching of material sci- 
ence that the amphibians preceded the birds. 

The student is invited to note particularly that the 
things that were formed were not Life. It does not say 
that Life was created, but "things'' that breathe or inhale 
life. . . . The Hebrew word for that which they in- 
hale is nephesh, and it should be carefully noted, as we 
shall meet it in a new dress later. 

The Atlantean Epoch is dealt with in the work of the 
sixth day. In verse 24 the creation of mammals is men- 
tioned, and there the word nephesh again occurs, explain- 
ing that the mammals "breathed life." "Elohim said. Let 
the earth bring forth life-breathing things . . . mam- 
mals ... ;" and in verse 27, "Elohim formed man 
iif their likeness; male and female made they [Elohim] 
them." 

The Bible historian here omits the a-sexual and 
hermaphrodite human stages and comes to the two sepa- 
rate sexes, as we know them now. He could not do other- 
wise, as he is describing the Atlantean Epoch, and by the 
time that stage in evolution was reached there were neither 
sexless men nor hermaphrodites, the differentiation of the 
sexes having taken place earlier — in the Lemurian Epoch. 
That which afterward became man could hardly be spoken 
of as man in the earlier stages of its development, as it 
differed but little from the animals. Therefore the Bible 
narrator is doing no violence to facts when he states that 
man was formed in the Atlantean Epoch. 

In verse 28 (all versions) will be found a very small 
prefix, with a very great significance: "Elohim said, Be 
fruitful and EE-plenish the earth." This plainly shows 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 333 

that the scribe who wrote it was cognizant of the occult 
teaching that the life wave had evolved here, on Globe D 
of the Earth Period, in previous Revolutions. 

TJie Aryan Epoch corresponds to the seventh day of 
Creation, when the Elohim rested from their labors as 
Creators and Guides, and humanity had been launched 
upon an independent career. 

This ends the story of the manner in which the Forms 
were produced. In the following chapter the story is 
told from the point of view which deals a little more with 
the Life side. 

Jehovah and His Mission. 

There has been much learned discussion concerning the 
discrepancy between, and especially the authorship of, the 
creation story of the first chapter and that which starts at 
the fourth verse of the second chapter. It is asserted that 
the two accounts were written by different men, because 
the Being or Beings, the name of Whom the translators 
have rendered as "God" in both the first and second chap- 
ters of the English version, are, in the Hebrew text, called 
"Elohim" in the first chapter, and "Jehovah" in the sec- 
ond chapter. It is argued that the same narrator would 
not have named God in two different ways. 

Had he meant the same God in both cases, he probably 
would not, but he was not a monotheist. He knew better 
than to think of God as simply a superior Man, using the 
sky for a throne and the earth for a footstool. When he 
wrote of Jehovah he meant the Leader Who had charge 
of the particular part of the work of Creation which was 
then being described. Jehovah was and is one of the Elo- 
him. He is the Leader of the Angels who were the human- 
ity of the Moon, and He is Eegent of our present Moon. 



334 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The reader is referred to diagram 14 for an accurate under- 
standing of the position and constitution of Jehovah. 

As Eegent of our Moon, He has charge of the degen- 
erate, evil Beings there, and He also rules the Angels. 
With Him are some of the Archangels, who were the hu- 
manity of the Sun. They are called the "Eace-spirits." 

It is the work of Jehovah to build concrete bodies or 
forms, by means of the hardening, crystallizing Moon 
forces. Therefore He is the giver of children and the 
Angels are His messengers in this work. It is well known 
to physiologists that the Moon is connected with gestation ; 
at least, they have observed that it measures and governs 
the periods of intra-uterine life and other physiological 
functions. 

The Archangels, as Spirits and Leaders of a Eace, are 
known to fight for or against a people, as the exigencies 
of the evolution of that Eace demand. In Daniel x:20, 
an Archangel, speaking to Daniel, says, "And now will I 
return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am 
gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.'' 

The Archangel Michael is the Eace-spirit of the Jews 
(Daniel xii:l), but Jehovah is not the God of the Jews 
alone; He is the Author of all Race-religions which led up 
to Christianity. Nevertheless, it is true that He did take 
a special interest in the progenitors of the present degen- 
erate Jews — the Original Semites, the "seed-race" for the 
seven races of the Aryan Epoch. Jehovah, of course, takes 
special care of a seed-race, in which are to be inculcated 
the embryonic faculties of the humanity of a new Epoch. 
For that reason He was particularly concerned with the 
Original Semites. They were His "chosen people" — chosen 
to be the seed for a new Eace, which was to inherit the 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 335 

"Promised Land" — not merely insignificant Palestine, but 
the entire Earth, as it is at present. 

He did not lead them out of Egypt. That story orig- 
inated with their descendants and is a confused account 
of their journey eastward through flood and disaster out 
of the doomed Atlantis into the "wilderness" (the Desert 
of Gobi in Central Asia), there to wander during the 
cabalistic forty years, until they could enter the Promised 
Land. There is a double and peculiar significance to the 
descriptive word "promised" in this connection. The land 
was called the "promised Land" because, as land or earth 
suitable for human occupation, it did not exist at the time 
the "chosen people" were led into the "wilderness." Part 
of the Earth had been submerged by floods and other parts 
changed by volcanic eruptions, hence it was necessary that 
a period of time elapse before the new Earth was in a 
fit condition to become the possession of the Aryan Race. 

The Original Semites were set apart and forbidden to 
marry into other tribes or peoples, but they were a stiff- 
necked and hard people, being yet led almost exclusively 
by desire and cunning, therefore they disobeyed the com- 
mand. Their Bible records that the sons of God married 
the daughters of man — the lower grades of their Atlantean 
compatriots. They thus frustrated the designs of Jeliovah 
and were cast off, the fruit of such cross-breeding being 
useless as seed for the coming Race. 

These cross-breeds were the progenitors of the present 
Jews, who now speak of "lost tribes." They know that 
some of the original number left them and went another 
way, but they do not know that those were the few who 
remained true. The story of the ten tribes being lost is a 
fable. Most of them perished, but the faithful ones sur- 



336 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

vived, and from that faithful remnant have descended the 
present Aryan Kaces. 

The contention of the opponents of the Bible, that it is a 
mere mutilation of the original writings, is cheerfully 
agreed to by occult science. Parts of it are even conceded 
to be entire fabrications and no attempt is made to prove 
its authenticity as a whole, in the form we now have it. 
The present effort is simply an attempt to exhume a few 
kernels of occult truth from the bewildering mass of mis- 
leading and incorrect interpretations under which they 
have been buried by the various translators and revisors. 

Involution, Evolution and Epigenesis. 

Having in the foregoing paragraphs disentangled from 
the general confusion the identity and mission of Jehovah, 
it may be that we can now find harmony in the two seem- 
ingly contradictory accounts of the creation of man, as 
recorded in the first and second chapters of Genesis, in the 
first of which it is written that he was the last, and in the 
second that he was the first created of all living things. 

We note that the first chapter deals chiefly with the 
creation of Form, the second chapter is devoted to the 
consideration of Life, while the fifth chapter deals with 
Consciousness. The key to the meaning, then, is that we 
must differentiate sharply between the physical Form, and 
the Life that builds that Form for its own expression. Al- 
though the order of the creation of the other kingdoms is 
not as correctly given in the second chapter as in the first, 
it is true that if we consider man from the Life side, he 
was created first, but if we consider him from the stand- 
point of Form, as is done in the first chapter, he was 
created last. 

All through the course of evolution — through Periods, 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 337 

Globes, Eevolutions and Races — those who do not improve 
by the formation of new characteristics are held back and 
immediately begin to degenerate. Only that which re- 
mains plastic and pliable and adaptable for molding into 
new Forms suitable for the expression of the expanding 
consciousness; only the Life which is capable of outgrow- 
ing the possibilities for improvement inhering in the 
forms it ensouls, can evolve with the pioneers of any life 
wave. All else must straggle on behind. 

This is the kernel of the occult teaching. Progress is 
not simply unfoldment; not simply Involution and Evolu- 
tion. There is a third factor, making a triad — Involution, 
Evolution, and — Epigenesis. 

The first two words are familiar to all who have studied 
Life and Form, but while it is generally admitted that the 
involution of spirit into matter takes place in order that 
Form may be built, it is not so commonly recognized that 
the Involution of Spirit runs side by side with the Evolu- 
tion of Form. 

From the very beginning of the Saturn Period up to the 
time in the Atlantean Epoch when "man's eyes were 
opened" by the Lucifer Spirits, and as a consequence the 
activities of man — or the Life-force which has become man 
— ^were chiefly directed inward ; that very same force which 
he now sends out from himself to build railways, steam- 
boats, etc., was used internally in building a vehicle through 
which to manifest himself. This vehicle is threefold, like 
the spirit which built it. 

The same power by which man is now improving outside 
conditions was used during Involution for purposes of in- 
ternal growth. 

The Form was built by Evolution; the Spirit built and 



338 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

entered it by Involution; but the means for devising im- 
provements is Epigenesis. 

There is a strong tendency to regard all that is, as the 
result of something that has been; all improvements on 
previously existing forms, as being present in all forms 
as latencies; to regard Evolution as simply the unfolding 
of germinal improvements. Such a conception excludes 
Epigenesis from the scheme of things. It allows no possi- 
bility for the building of anything new, no scope for orig- 
inality. 

The occultist believes the purpose of evolution to be the 
development of man from a static to a dynamic God — a 
Creator. If the development he is at present undergoing 
is to be his education and if, during its progress, he is 
simply unfolding latent actualities, where does he learn 
toCEEATE? 

If man's development consists solely in learning to build 
better and better Forms, according to models already exist- 
ing in his Creator's mind, he can become, at best, only a 
good imitator — never a creator. 

In order that he may become an independent, original 
Creator, it is necessary that his training should include 
sufficient latitude for the exercise of the individual orig- 
inality which distinguishes creation from imitation. So 
long as certain features of the old Form meet the require- 
ments of progression they are retained, but at each re- 
incarnation the evolving Life adds such original improve- 
ments as are necessary for its further expression. 

The pioneers of science are constantly brought face to 
face with Epigenesis as a fact in all departments of 
nature. As early as 1759, Caspar WoliI published his 
"Theoria Generationis," in which he shows that in the 
human ovum theie is absolutely no trace of the coming 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 339 

organism ; that its evolution consists of the addition of new 
formations; a building of something which is not latent 
in the ovum. 

Haeckel (that great and fearless student of nature as he 
sees it, and very near to knowledge of the complete truth 
regarding evolution) says of the "Theoria Generationis^' : 
"Despite its small compass and difficult terminology, it is 
one of the most valuable works in the whole literature of 
biology." 

Haeckel's own views we find thus stated in his '^An- 
thropogenie" : "Nowadays we are hardly justified in call- 
ing Epigenesis an hypothesis, as we have fully convinced 
ourselves of its being a FACT and are able at any moment 
to demonstrate it by the help of the microscope." 

A builder would be but a sorry craftsman were his abili- 
ties limited to the building of houses after only one par- 
ticular model, which, during his apprenticeship, his master 
had taught him to imitate, but which he is unable to alter 
to meet new requirements. To be successful he must be 
capable of designing new and better houses, improving 
that which experience teaches was not serviceable in the 
earlier buildings. The same force which the builder now 
directs outward to build houses better adapted to new 
conditions was used in past Periods to build new and bet- 
ter vehicles for the evolution of the Ego. 

Starting with the simplest organisms, the Life which is 
now Man built the Form to suit its necessities. In due 
time, as the entity progressed, it became evident that new 
improvements must be added which conflicted with the 
lines previously followed. A new start must be given it in 
a new species, where it could retrieve any previous mis- 
takes which experience taught would preclude further de- 
velopment if the old lines were adhered to, and thus the 



340 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

evolving life would be enabled to progress further in a 
new species. When later experience proved that the new 
form also was inadequate, inasmuch as it could not adapt 
itself to some improvement necessary to the progress of the 
evolving life, it too was discarded and still another de- 
parture made, in a form adaptable to the necessary im- 
provement. 

Thus by successive steps does the evolving Life improve 
its vehicles, and the improvement is still going on. Man, 
who is in the vanguard of progress, has built his bodies, 
from the similitude of the amoeba up to the human form 
of the savage, and from that up through the various grades 
until the most advanced races are now using the best and 
most highly organized bodies on Earth. Between deaths 
and rebirths we are constantly building bodies in which to 
function during our lives and a far greater degree of ef- 
ficiency than the present will yet be reached. If we make 
rilistakes in building between incarnations, they become 
evident when we are using the body in Earth-life, and it is 
well for us if we are able to perceive and realize our mis- 
takes, that we may avoid making them afresh life after 
life. 

But just as the builder of houses would lag commercially 
if he did not constantly improve his methods to meet the 
exigencies of his business, so those who persistently adhere 
to the old forms fail to rise above the species and are left 
behind, as stragglers. These stragglers take the forms 
outgrown by the pioneers, as previously explained, and they 
compose the lower Eaces and species of any kingdom in 
which they are evolving. As the Life which is now Man 
passed through stages analagous to the mineral, plant, and 
animal kingdoms and through the lower human Eaces, 
stragglers were left all along the way who had failed to 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 34I 

reach the necessary standard to keep abreast of the crest- 
wave of evolution. They took the discarded Forms of the 
pioneers and used them as stepping-stones, by means of 
which they tried to overtake the others, but the advanced 
Forms did not stand stilh In the progress of Evolution 
there is no halting-place. In evolving Life, as in com- 
merce, there is no such thing as merely "holding your 
own." Progression or Eetrogression is the Law. The 
Form that is not capable of further improvement must 
Degenerate. 

Therefore there is one line of improving forms ensouled 
by the pioneers of the evolving Life, and another line of 
degenerating forms, outgrown by the pioneers, but en- 
souled by the stragglers, as long as there are any strag- 
glers of that particular life wave to which those forms 
originally belonged. 

When there are no more stragglers, the species gradually 
dies out. The Forms have been crystallized beyond the 
possibility of being improved by tenants of increasing in- 
ability. They therefore return to the mineral kingdom, 
fossilize and are added to the different strata of the Earth's 
crust. 

The assertion of material science that man has ascended 
through the different kingdoms of plant and animal which 
exist -about us now to anthropoid and thence to man, is not 
quite correct. Man has never inhabited forms identical 
with those of our present-day animals, nor the present-day 
anthropoid species ; but he has inhabited forms which were 
similar to but higher than those of the present anthropoids. 

The scientist sees that there is an anatomical likeness 
between man and the monkey, and as the evolutionary im- 
pulse always makes for improvement, he concludes that man 
must have descended from the monkey, but he is always 



342 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

baffled in his efforts to find the "missing link" connecting 
the two. 

From the point where the pioneers of our life wave (The 
Aryan Eaces) occupied ape-like forms, they have progressed 
to their present stage of development, while the Forms 
(which were the "missing link") have degenerated and are 
now ensouled by the last stragglers of the Saturn Period. 

The lower monkeys, instead of being the progenitors of 
the higher species, are stragglers occupying the most de- 
generated specimens of what was once the human form. 
Instead of man having ascended from the anthropoids, the 
reverse is true — the anthropoids have degenerated from 
man. Material science, dealing only with Form, has thus 
misled itself and drawn erroneous conclusions in this mat- 
ter. 

The same relative conditions are to be found in the ani- 
mal kingdom. The pioneers of the life wave which en- 
tered evolution in the Sun Period are our present-day 
mammals. The different grades correspond to the steps 
once taken by man, but the forms are all degenerating 
under the management of the stragglers. Similarly, the 
pioneers of the life wave which entered evolution in the 
Moon Period are found among the fruit trees, while the 
stragglers of that life wave ensoul all other plant-forms. 

Each life wave, however, remains definitely confined 
within its own borders. The anthropoids may overtake us 
and become human beings, but no other animals will reach 
our particular point of development. They will reach a 
similar stage, but under different conditions, in the Jupiter 
Period. The present plants will be the humanity of the 
Venus Period, under a still greater difference of condition, 
and our minerals will reach the human stage under the 
conditions of the Vulcan Period. 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 343 

It will be noted that the modern evolutionary theory, 
particularly that of Haeckel, would, if it were completely 
reversed, be in almost perfect accord with the knowledge 
of occult science. 

The monkey has degenerated from the man. 

The polyps are the last degeneration left behind by the 
mammals. 

The mosses are the lowest degenerations of the plant 
kingdom. 

The mineral kingdom is the final goal of the forms 
of all the kingdoms when they have reached the acme 
of degeneration. 

A corroboration of this is found in coal, which was once 
vegetable or plant forms ; also in petrified wood and fos- 
silized remains of various animal forms. Common stone 
or rock, which no scientist would admit had its origin in 
another kingdom, is to the occult investigator as truly 
mineralized plants as coal itself. The mineralogist will 
learnedly explain that it is composed of hornblende, feld- 
spar and mica, but the trained clairvoyant, who can trace 
it back in the memory of Nature, through millions of years, 
can supplement that statement by adding : Yes, and that 
which you call hornblende and feldspar are the leaves and 
stems of prehistoric flowers, and the mica is all that remains 
of their petals. 

The occult teaching of evolution is also corroborated 
by the science of embryology in the ante-natal recapitula- 
tion of all past stages of development. The difference be- 
tween the ovum of a human being and of some of the higher 
mammals, and even of the higher developments in the plant 
kingdom, is indistinguishable, even under the microscope. 
Experts are unable to tell which is animal and which is 
human. Even after several of the initial ante-natal stages 



344 EOSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

have been passed through the experts cannot differentiate 
between animal and human embryo. 

But if the animal ovum is studied through the entire 
period of gestation, it will be observed that it passes 
through the mineral and plant stages only, and is born 
when it reaches the animal stage. This is because the 
Life ensouling such an ovum passed through its mineral 
evolution in the Sun Period, its plant life in the Moon 
Period, and is now forced to stop at the animal stage in 
the Earth Period. 

On the other hand, the Life which uses the human ovum 
had its mineral existence in the Saturn Period, its plant 
existence in the Sun Period, passed the animal stage in the 
Moon Period, has still some scope for Epigenesis after it 
has reached the animal stage and therefore goes on to the 
human — nor does it stop there. The father and mother 
give the substance of their bodies for the building of the 
ckild's body, but, particularly in the higher races, Epi- 
genesis makes it possible to add something which makes 
the child different from the parents. 

Where Epigenesis is inactive in the individual, family, 
nation or Race — there evolution ceases and denegeration 
commences. 

A Living Soul? 

Thus the two Creation stories harmonize very well. 

One deals with Form, which was built up through min- 
eral, plant and animal and reached the human last. 

The other tells us that the Life which now ensouls human 
forms was manifested anterior to the Life which ensouls 
the forms of the other kingdoms. 

One of these accounts of Creation would not have been 
sufficient. There are important particulars hidden behind 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 345 

the narrative of man's creation, in the second chapter; 
the verse reads: "Then Jehovah formed man from the 
dust of the Earth, and blew into his nostrils the breath 
\_nephesh~\, and man became a breathing creature \_nephesh 
chayim] /' 

In other places in the King James version nephesh is 
translated "life/' but in this particular instance (Gen. ii :7) 
it is rendered "living soul/' thus conveying the idea that 
there was a distinction made between the life that ensouled 
the human form and that which ensouled inferior creations. 
There is no authority whatever for this difference in trans- 
lation, which is purely arbitrary. The life-breath 
(nephesh) is the same in man and beast. This can be 
shown even to those who stand firmly upon the Bible as 
authority, for even the King James version distinctly states 
(Eccles. iii:19, 20) : " . . . as the one dieth, so dieth 
the other ; yea, they all have one breath [nephesh^ ; so that 
a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast: . . . All 
go unto one place." 

The animals are but our "younger brothers/' and though 
they are not now so finely organized, they will eventually 
reach a state as high as our own, and we shall then have 
ascended still higher. 

If it is contended that man received his soul in the way 
described in this seventh verse of the second chapter of 
Genesis, and that he could have received it in no other 
way, it is pertinent to ask where and how ivoman received 
her soul? 

The meaning of the chapter, and of the inspiration of 
the breath of life by Jehovah, is very plain and clear when 
we use the occult key, and it has the further and immense 
advantage of being logical. 

The fact that the Eegent of the Moon (Jehovah), with 



346 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

His Angels and Archangels, were the principals in this 
action fixes the time when this creation occurred. It was 
between the early and the middle parts of the Lemurian 
Epoch, and must have been after the Moon was thrown 
out from the Earth, because Jehovah had nothing to do 
with the generation of bodies before the Moon was thrown 
off. The forms were then more ethereal. There were no 
dense and concrete bodies. It is possible to make such 
bodies only by means of the hardening and crystallizing 
Moon-forces. It must have been in the first half of the 
Lemurian Epoch, because the separation of the sexes, 
which is recorded later, took place in the middle of that 
epoch. 

At that time man-in-the-making had not yet commenced 
to breathe by means of lungs. He had the gill-like ap- 
paratus still present in the human embryo while passing 
through the stage of ante-natal life corresponding to that 
Epoch. He had no warm, red blood, for at that stage there 
was no individual spirit, the entire form was soft and 
pliable and the skeleton soft like cartilage. Before the 
later date, when it became necessary to separate humanity 
into sexes, the skeleton had grown firm and solid. 

The work done by Jehovah was to build dense, hard bone 
substance into the soft bodies already existing. Previous 
to this time, i. e., during the Polarian and Hyperborean 
Epochs, neither animal nor man had bones. 

Adam's Eib. 

The grotesque and impossible manner in which the sep- 
aration of the sexes is said to have been accomplished (as 
described in the common versions of the Bible and, in this 
particular case, in the Masoretic text also) is another ex- 
ample of what may be done by changing vowels in the old 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 347 

Hebrew text. Eead in one way, the word is ^^rib"; but in 
another, which has at least as good a claim to considera- 
tion, with the additional advantage of being common-sense, 
it reads "side." If we interpret this to mean that man 
was male-female and that Jehovah caused one side or sex 
in each being to remain latent, we shall not be doing vio- 
lence to our reason, as we would by accepting the "rib" 
story. 

When this alteration is made, the occult teaching as 
previously given harmonizes with that of the Bible and both 
agree with the teaching of modern science that man was 
bi-sexual at one time, before he developed one sex at the 
expense of the other. In corroboration of this, it is pointed 
out that the foetus is bi-sexual up to a certain point ; there- 
after one sex predominates, while the other remains in 
abeyance, so that each person still has the opposite sex- 
organs in a rudimentary form and therefore is really bi- 
sexual, as was primitive man. 

Apparently the Bible narrator does not wish to give, in 
this second creation account, an accurate picture of the 
whole of evolution, but rather to particularize a little more 
what was said in the first chapter. He tells us that man 
did not always breathe as he does now; that there was a 
time when he was not separated into sexes ; and that it was 
Jehovah Who effected the change, thus fixing the time of 
the occurrence. As we proceed, it will be found that much 
further information is given. 

Guardian Angels. 

During the earlier Epochs and Periods the great creative 
Hierarchies had worked upon humanity as it was uncon- 
sciously evolving. There had been only one common con- 



348 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sciousness among ALL human beings; one group-spirit 
for all mankind, as it were. 

In the Lemnrian Epoch a new step was taken. Bodies 
had been definitely formed, but they must have warm, red 
blood before they could be ensouled and become the abode 
of indwelling spirits. 

In nature no process is sudden. We would get a wrong 
idea were we to imagine that air blown into the nostrils 
could put a soul into an image of clay and galvanize it into 
life as a sentient, thinking being. 

The individual spirit was very weak and impotent and 
quite unfitted for the task of guiding its dense vehicle. 
In that respect it is not yet very strong. To any qualified 
observer, it is evident that the desire body rules the per- 
sonality more than does the spirit, even at our present 
stage of advancement. But in the middle of the Lemurian 
Epoch, when the lower personality — the threefold body — 
was to be endowed with the light of the Ego, the latter, 
if left to itself, would have been absolutely powerless to 
guide its instrument. 

Therefore it was necessary for someone much more highly 
evolved to help the individual spirit and gradually prepare 
the way for its complete union with its instruments. It 
Was analogous to a new nation, over which, until it be- 
comes capable of forming a stable government for itself, 
some stronger power establishes a protectorate, guarding it 
alike from external dangers and internal indiscretions. 
Such a protectorate was exercised over evolving humanity 
by the Eace-spirit, and is exercised over the animals by the 
group-spirit, in a somewhat different way. 

Jehovah is the Most High. He is Eace-God, as one 
might express it, having dominion over all Form. He is 
the Chief Euler and the highest Power in maintaining' the 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 349 

form and exercising an orderly government over it. The 
Archangels are the Eace-spirits, each having dominion 
over a certain group of people. They also have dominion 
over animals, while the Angels have dominion over the 
plants. 

The Archangels have dominion over races or groups of 
people and also over the animals, for these two kingdoms 
have desire bodies and the Archangels are expert architects 
of desire matter, because in the Sun Period the densest 
globe was composed of that material, and the humanity of 
that period, who are now Archangels, learned to build their 
densest vehicles of desire stuff as we are now learning to 
build our bodies of the chemical elements whereof our 
Earth-globe is composed. Thus it will be readily under- 
stood that the Archangels are peculiarly qualified to help 
later life waves through the stage where they learn to 
build and control a desire body. 

For analogous reasons the Angels work in the vital 
bodies of man, animal and plant. Their densest bodies 
are composed of ether and so was the Globe D in the Moon 
Period when they were human. 

Jehovah and His Archangels, therefore, hold a similar 
relation to Eaces that the group-spirit does to animals. 
When individual members of a Eace have evolved entire 
self-control and government, they are emancipated from 
the influence of the Eace-spirit and kindred beings. 

As we have seen, the point of vantage of the group-spirit, 
as of any Ego in the dense body, is in the blood. The 
Masoretic text shows that this knowledge was possessed by 
the writer of Leviticus. In the fourteenth verse of the 
seventeenth chapter the Jews are prohibited from eating 
blood because "... the soul of all flesh is in the 
blood . . . ;" and in the eleventh verse of the same 



350 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

chapter we find these words: "... for the soul of 
the flesh is in the blood . . . the blood itself mediates 
for the soul/' which shows that this applies to both man 
and beast, for the word here used in the Hebrew is 
nesliamah and means "souF' — ^not "life/' as it is rendered 
in the King James version. 

The Ego works directly through the blood. The Race- 
spirit guides the Eaces by working in the blood, as the 
group-spirit guides the animals of its species through the 
blood. So also does the Ego control its own vehicle, but 
with a difference. 

The Ego operates by means of the heat of the blood, 
while the Eace (i. e., tribal, or family) spirit works by 
means of the air, as it is drawn into the lungs. That is 
why Jehovah, or His messengers, "breathed into man's 
nostrils/' thereby securing admission for the Eace-spirit^ 
Community-spirits, etc. 

The different classes of Race-spirits guided their peoples 
to various climates and different parts of the Earth. To 
the trained clairvoyant, a tribal-spirit appears as a cloud 
enveloping and permeating the atmosphere of the whole 
country inhabited by the people under its dominion. Thus 
are produced the different peoples and nations. Paul spoke 
of "The Prince of the Power of the Air" ; of "principalities 
and powers/' etc., showing that he knew of the Eace-spirits, 
but now not even an attempt is made to understand what 
they mean, although their influence is strongly felt. Patriot- 
ism is one of the sentiments emanating from and fostered 
by them. It has not now so much power over people as 
formerly. There are some who are being liberated from 
the Eace-spirit and can say with Thomas Paine, "The 
world is my country." There are those who can leave 
father and mother and look upon all men as brothers. 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 361 

They are being liberated from the Family-spirit, or spirit 
of the Clan, which is different from the race-spirit, an 
etherie entity. Others again, who are deep in the toils of 
the Race- or Family-spirit, will suffer the most dreadful 
depression if they leave home or country and breathe the 
air of another Race- or Family-spirit. 

At the time the Race-spirit entered human bodies the 
individualized Ego commenced to get some slight control 
of its vehicles. Each human entity became more and more 
conscious of being separate and distinct from other men, 
yet for ages he did not think of himself 'primarily as an 
individual, but as belonging to a tribe or a family. The 
affix "son" to many present-day surnames is a remnant of 
this feeling. A man was not simply "John," or "James." 
He was John Robertso?i^ or James Williamso?i. In some 
countries a woman was not "Mary," or "Martha." She was 
Mary Marthasdaughter, Martha Marj^sdaughter. This cus- 
tom was continued in some European countries until with- 
in a few generations of the present time; the "son" affix 
remains with us yet and the family name is still much 
honored. 

Among the Jews, even down to the time of Christ, the 
Eace-spirit was stronger than the individual spirit. Every 
Jew thought of himself first as belonging to a certain tribe 
or family. His proudest boast was that he was of the 
"Seed of Abraham." All this was the work of the Race- 
spirit. 

Previous to the advent of Jehovah, when the Earth was 
yet a part of the Sun, there was one common group-spirit, 
composed of all the creative Hierarchies, which controlled 
the entire human family, but it was intended that each 
body should be the temple and pliable instrument of an in- 



352 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

dwelling spirit and that meant an infinite division of 
rulership. 

Jehovah came with His Angels and Archangels and made 
the first great division into Eaces, giving to each group the 
guiding influence of a Eace-spirit — an Archangel. For 
each Ego He appointed one of the Angels to act as guardian 
until the individual spirit had grown strong enough to be- 
come emancipated from all outside influence. 

Mixing Blood ii^t Marriage. 

Christ came to prepare the way for the emancipation 
of humanity from the guidance of the differentiating Eace- 
and Family-spirit, and to unite the whole human family 
in One Universal Brotherhood. 

He taught that "Abraham's seed" referred to the bodies 
onl}^, and called their attention to the fact that before 
Abraham lived [the] "I" — the Ego — was in existence. The 
threefold individual spirit had its being before all Tribes 
and Eaces and it will remain when they have passed away 
and even the memory of them is no more. 

The threefold spirit in man, the Ego, is the God within, 
whom the personal, bodily man must learn to follow. 
Therefore did Christ say that, to be His disciple, a man 
must forsake all that he had. His teaching points to the 
emancipation of the God within. He calls upon man to 
exercise his prerogative as an individual and rise above 
family, tribe, and nation. Not that he is to disregard kin 
and country. He must fulfill all duties, but he is to cease 
identifying himself with part and must recognize an equal 
kinship with all the world. That is the ideal given to 
mankind by the Christ. 

Under the rule of the Eace-spirit, the nation, tribe or 
family was considered first — the individual last. The fam- 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 353 

ily must be kept intact. If any man died without leaving 
offspring to perpetuate his name, his brother must "carry 
seed" to the widow, that there might be no dying out (Deu. 
xxv:5-10). Marrying out of the family was regarded 
with horror in the earliest times. A member of one tribe 
could not become connected with another without losing 
caste in his own. It was not an easy matter to become a 
member of another family. I^ot only among the Jews 
and other early nations was the integrity of the family 
insisted upon, but also in more modern times. As previ- 
ously mentioned, the Scots, even in comparatively recent 
times, clung tenaciously to their Clan, and the old Norse 
A^ikings would take no one into their families without 
first "mixing blood*^ with him, for the spiritual effects of 
haemolysis, which are unknown to material science, were 
known of old. 

All these customs resulted from the working of the Eace- 
and tribal-spirit in the common blood. To admit as a mem- 
ber one in whom that common blood did not flow would 
have caused "confusion of caste/' The closer the inbreed- 
ing, the greater the power of the Eace-spirit, and the 
stronger the ties that bound the individual to the tribe, 
because the vital force of the man is in his blood. Mem- 
ory is intimately connected with the blood, which is the 
highest expression of the vital body. 

The brain and the nervous system are the highest ex- 
pressions of the desire body. They call up pictures of the 
outside world, but in mental image-making, i. e., imagina- 
tion, the blood brings the material for the pictures ; there- 
fore when the thought is active the blood flows to the 
head. 

When the same unmixed strain of blood flows in the 
veins of a family for generations, the same mental pictures 



354 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

made by great-grandfather, grandfather and father are re- 
produced in the son by the family-spirit which lived in the 
haemaglobin of the blood. He sees himself as the continu- 
ation of a long line of ancestors who live in him. He sees 
all the events of the past lives of the family as though he 
had been present, therefore he does not realize himself as 
an Ego. He is not simply "David," but "the son of Abra- 
ham"; not "Joseph," but "the son of David." 

By means of this common blood men are said to have 
lived for many generations, because through the blood their 
descendants had access to the memory of nature, in which 
the records of the lives of their ancestors were preserved. 
That is why, in the fifth chapter of Genesis, it is stated 
that the patriarchs lived for centuries. Adam, Methuselah 
and the other patriarchs did not personally attain to such 
great age, but they lived in the consciousness of their de- 
scendants, who saw the lives of their ancestors as if they 
Ifad lived them. After the expiration of the period stated, 
the descendants did not think of themselves as Adam or 
Methuselah. Memory of those ancestors faded and so it 
is said they died. 

The "second sight" of the Scotch Highlanders shows 
that by means of endogamy the consciousness of the inner 
Worlds is retained. They have practiced marrying in the 
Clan until recent times ; also in Gipsies, who always marry 
in the tribe. The smaller the tribe and the closer the in- 
breeding, the more pronounced is the "sight." 

The earlier Eaces would not have dared to disobey the 
injunction issued by the tribal God, not to marry outside 
of the tribe, nor had they any inclination to do so, for 
they had no mind of their own. 

The Original Semites were the first to evolve Will, and 
they at once married the daughters of the men of other 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 355 

tribes, frustrating temporarily the design of their Kaee- 
spirit and being promptly ejected as evil-doers who had 
"gone a-whoring after strange gods/' thereby rendering 
themselves unfit to give the "seed" for the seven Eaees of 
our present Aryan Epoch. The Original Semites were, for 
the time being, the last Race that the Eace-spirit cared to 
keep separate. 

Later, man was given free will. The time had come 
when he was to be prepared for individualization. The 
former "common" consciousness, the involuntary clairvoy- 
ance or second-sight which constantly held before a tribes- 
man the pictures of his ancestors' lives and caused him 
to feel most closely identified with the tribe or family, 
was to be replaced for a time by a strictly individual con- 
sciousness confined to the material world, so as to break 
up the nations into individuals, that the Brotherhood of 
Man regardless of exterior circumstances may become a 
fact. This is on the same principle that if we have a 
number of buildings and wish to make them into one 
large structure, it is necessary to break them up into sep- 
arate bricks. Only then can the large building be con- 
structed. 

In order to accomplish this separation of nations into 
individuals, laws were given which prohibited endogamy 
or marriage in the family and henceforth incestuous mar- 
riages gradually came to be regarded with horror. Strange 
blood has thus been introduced into all the families of the 
Earth and it has gradually wiped out the involuntary clair- 
voyance which promoted the clannish feeling and segre- 
gated humanity into groups. Altruism is superseding 
patriotism, and loyalty to the family is disappearing in 
consequence of the mixture of blood. 

Science has lately discovered that haemolysis results from 



356 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the inoculation of the blood of one individual into the 
veins of another of a different species, causing the death 
of the lower of the two. Thus any animal inoculated with 
the blood of a man dies. The blood of a dog transfused 
Into the veins of a bird kills the bird, but it will not hurt 
the dog to have the bird's blood inoculated into its veins. 
Science merely states the fact, the occult scientist gives 
the reason. The blood is the vantage ground of the spirit, 
as shown elsewhere. The Ego in man works in its own 
vehicles by means of the heat of the blood ; the race, family 
or community spirit gains entrance to the blood by means 
of the air we inspire. In the animals are also both the 
separate spirit of the, animal and the group-spirit of the 
species to which it belongs, but the spirit of the animal is 
not individualized and does not work self-consciously with 
its vehicles as does the Ego, hence it is altogether domi- 
nated by the group-spirit which works in the blood. 

When the blood of a higher animal is inoculated into 
the veins of one from a lower species, the spirit in the 
blood of the higher animal is of course stronger than the 
spirit of the less evolved; hence when it endeavors to as- 
sert itself it kills the imprisoning form and liberates itself. 
When, on the other hand, the blood of a lower species is 
inoculated into the veins of a higher animal, the higher 
spirit is capable of ousting the less evolved spirit in the 
strange blood and assimilating the blood to its own pur- 
poses, therefore no visible catastrophe ensues. 

The group-spirit always aims to preserve the integrity 
of its domain in the blood of the species under its charge. 
Like the human Eace-God, it resents the marriage of its 
subjects into other species and visits the sins of the fathers 
upon the children as we see in the case of hybrids. Where 
a horse and a donkey produce a mule for instance, the 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 357 

mixture of the strange blood destroys the propagative fac- 
ulty so as not to perpetuate the hybrid which is an abomi- 
nation from the standpoint of the group-spirit, for the 
mule is not so definitely under the dominion of the group- 
spirit of the horses or of the group-spirit of the donkeys 
as the pure breed, yet it is not so far away as to be en- 
tirely exempt from their influence. If two mules could 
mate, their offspring would be still less under the dominion 
of either of these group-spirits, and so a new species 
WITHOUT A GROUP-SPIRIT would result That would 
be an anomaly in nature, an impossibility until the sep- 
arate animal-spirits should have become sufficiently evolved 
to be self-sufficient. Such a species, could it be produced, 
would be without the guiding instinct, so-called, which is 
in reality the promptings of the group-spirit; they would 
be in an analogous position to a litter of kittens removed 
from the mother's womb prior to birth. They could not 
possibly shift for themselves, so they would die. 

Therefore, as it is the group-spirit of the animals that 
sends the separate spirits of the animals into incarnation, 
it simply withholds the fertilizing seed-atom when animals 
of widely differing species are mated. It permits one of 
its charges to take advantage of an opportunity for in- 
carnation where two animals of nearly the same nature 
are mated, but refuses to let the hybrids perpetuate them- 
selves. Thus we see that the infusion of strange blood 
weakens the hold of the group-spirit and that therefore it 
either destroys the form or the propagative faculty where 
it has the power. 

The human spirit is individualized, an Ego, it is evolv- 
ing free will and responsibility. It is drawn to incarna- 
tion by the irresistible law of Consequence, so that it is 
beyond the power of the race, community or family spirit 



358 ROSICKUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

to keep it out of incarnation at the present stage of human 
development, and by the admixture of strange blood, by 
intermarriage of the individuals of different tribes or 
nations, the leaders of man are gradually helping him to 
oust the family, tribal or national spirit from the blood, 
but with it has necessarily gone the involuntary clairvoy- 
ance which was due to its working in the blood, whereby 
it fostered the family traditions in its charges, and so we 
see that also in the case of man a faculty was destroyed 
by the mixture of blood. That loss was a gain, however, 
for it has concentrated man's energy on the material world 
and he is better able to master its lessons than if he were 
still distracted by the visions of the higher realms. 

As man becomes emancipated he gradually ceases to 
think of himself as "Abraham's Seed," as a "Clan Stewart 
Man," as a "Brahmin" or a "Levite"; he is learning to 
think more of himself as an individual, an "I." The more 
he 'cultivates that "Self," the more he frees himself from 
the family- and national-spirit in the blood, the more he 
becomes a self-sufficient citizen of the world. 

There is much foolish, even dangerous, talk of giving 
up the Self to the Not- Self ; only when we have cultivated 
a ''Self," can we sacrifice ourselves and give up the Self to 
the WHOLE. So long as we can only love our own family 
or nation we are incapable of loving others. "We are bound 
by the tie of kin and country. When we have burst the 
tie of blood and asserted ourselves and become self-suffi- 
cient may we become unselfish helpers of humanity. When 
a man has reached that stage he will find that, instead of 
having lost his own family, he has gained all the families 
in the world, for they will have become his sisters and 
brothers, his fathers and mothers to care for and to help. 

Then he will regain the viewpoint of the Spiritual World 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 359 

which he lost by the mixing of blood, but it will be a 
higher faculty an intelligent, voluntary clairvoyance where 
he can see what he wills and not merely the negative fac- 
ulty imprinted in his blood by the family-spirit which 
bound him to the family to the exclusion of all other 
families. His viewpoint will be universal, to be used for 
universal good. 

For aforementioned reasons, intertribal, and later inter- 
national, marriages came gradually to be regarded as de- 
sirable and preferable to close intermarriages. 

As man progressed through these stages, and gradually 
lost touch with the inner world, he sorrowed over the loss 
and longed for a return of the "inner" vision. But by 
degrees he forgot, and the material world gradually loomed 
up before his mind as the only reality, until at last he has 
come to scout the idea that such inner Worlds exist and 
to regard a belief in them as foolish superstition. 

The four causes contributing to this condition were: 

(1) The clearing of the foggy atmosphere of the At- 
lantean continent. 

(2) The indrawing of the vital body, so that a point 
at the root of the nose corresponds to a similar point in 
the vital body. 

(3) The elimination of inbreeding and the substitu- 
tion therefor of marriages outside the family and tribe. 

(4) The use of intoxicants. 

The Race-spirits still exist in and work with man, but 
the more advanced the nation, the more freedom is given 
the individual. In countries where people are most fet- 
tered, the Race-spirit is strongest. The more in harmony 
a man is with the law of Love, and the higher his ideals, 
the more he frees himself from the spirit of the Race. 

Patriotism, while good in itself, is a tie of the Race- 



360 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

spirit. The ideal of Universal Brotherhood, which identi- 
fies itself with neither country nor race, is the only path 
which leads to emancipation. 

Christ came to reunite the separated races in bonds of 
peace and good-will, wherein all will willingly and con- 
sciously follow the law of Love. 

The present Christianity is not even a shadow of the 
true religion of Christ. That will remain in abeyance 
until all race-feeling shall have been overcome. In the 
Sixth Epoch there will be but one Universal Brotherhood, 
under the Leadership of the Returned Christ, but the day 
and the hour no man knows, for it is not fixed, but de- 
pends upon how soon a sufficient number of people shall 
have commenced to live the life of Fellowship and Love, 
which is to be the hall-mark of the new dispensation. 

The Fall of Man. 

f n connection with the analysis of Genesis, a few more 
words must be said about "The Fall,'' which is the back- 
bone and sinew of popular Christianity. Had there been 
no "Fall," there would have been no need for the "plan 
of salvation." 

When, in the middle of the Lemurian Epoch, the separa- 
tion of the sexes occurred (in which work Jehovah and His 
Angels were active), the Ego began to work slightly upon 
the dense body, building organs within. Man was not at 
that time the wide-awake conscious being he is at present, 
but by means of half the sex force, he was building a brain 
for the expression of thought as previously described. He 
was more awake in the Spiritual World than in the physi- 
cal; hardly saw his body and was not conscious of the act 
of propagation. The Bible statement that Jehovah put 
man to sleep when he was to bring forth is correct. There 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 361 

was no pain nor trouble connected with childbirth; nor 
(because of man's exceedingly dim consciousness of his 
physical surroundings) did he know anything of the loss 
of his dense body by death, or of his installment in a new 
dense vehicle at birth. 

It will be remembered that the Lucifers were a part of 
the humanity of the Moon Period; they are the stragglers 
of the life wave of the Angels, too far advanced to take a 
dense physical body, yet they needed an ^^inner" organ for 
the acquisition of knowledge. Moreover, they could work 
through a physical brain, which the Angels or Jehovah 
could not. 

These spirits entered the spinal cord and brain and 
spoke to the woman, whose Imagination, as explained else- 
where, had been aroused by the training of the Lemurian 
Race. As her consciousness was principally internal, a 
picture-consciousness of them was received by her, and she 
saw them as serpents, for they had entered her brain by 
the serpentine spiral cord. 

The training of the women included watching the peril- 
ous feats and fights of the Men in developing Will, in 
which fights bodies were necessarily often killed. The dim 
consciousness of something unusual set the imagination of 
the woman to wondering why she saw these strange things. 
She was conscious of the spirits of those who had lost their 
bodies, but her imperfect sense of the Phj^sical World 
failed to reveal these friends whose dense bodies had been 
destroj^ed. 

The Lucifers solved the problem for her by "opening 
her eyes." They revealed to her her own body and that of 
the man and taught her how, together, they might conquer 
death by creating new bodies. Thus death could not touch 
them for they, like Jehovah, could create at will. 



362 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Lucifer opened the eyes of woman. She sought the help 
of man and opened his eyes. Thus, in a real though dim 
way, they first "knew" or became aware of one another and 
also the Physical World. They became conscious of death 
and pain and by this knowledge they learned to differentiate 
between the inner man and the outer garment he wears and 
renews each time it is necessary to take his next step in 
evolution. They ceased to be automatons and became free 
thinking beings at the cost of freedom from pain, sickness 
and death. 

That the interpretation of the eating of the fruit as a 
symbol of the generative act is not a far-fetched idea, is 
shown by the declaration of Jehovah (which is not a 
curse at all, but simply a statement of the consequences 
that would follow the act) that they will die and that the 
woman will bear her children in pain and suffering. He 
knew that, as man's attention had now been called to his 
physical garment, he would become aware of its loss by 
death. He also knew that man had not yet wisdom to 
bridle his passion and regulate sexual intercourse by the 
positions of the planets, therefore pain in childbirth must 
follow his ignorant abuse of the function. 

It has always been a sore puzzle to Bible commentators 
what connection there could possibly be between the eating 
of fruit and the bearing of children, but if we under- 
stand that the eating of the fruit is symbolical of the gen- 
erative act whereby man becomes "like God" inasmuch as 
he knows his kind and is thus able to generate new beings, 
the solution is easy. 

In the latter part of the Lemurian Epoch when man 
arrogated to himself the prerogative of performing the 
generative act when he pleased, it was his, then powerful, 
will that enabled him to do so. By "eating of the tree 



OCCULT ANALYSIS OF GENESIS 363 

of knowledge" at any and all times he was able to create 
a new body whenever he lost an old vehicle. 

We usually think of death as something to be dreaded. 
Had man also "eaten of the tree of life/' had he learned 
the secret of how to perpetually vitalize his body, there 
would have been a worse condition. We know that our 
bodies are not perfect today and in those ancient days they 
were exceedingly primitive. Therefore the anxiety of the 
creative Hierarchies lest man "eat of the tree of life also," 
and become capable of renewing his vital body, was well 
founded. Had he done so he would have been immortal 
indeed, but would never have been able to progress. The 
evolution of the Ego depends upon its vehicles and if it 
could not get new and improving ones by death and birth, 
there would be stagnation. It is an occult maxim that 
the oftener we die the better we are able to live, for every 
birth gives us a new chance. 

We have seen that brain-knowledge, with its concomitant 
selfishness, was bought by man at the cost of the power to 
create from himself alone. He bought his free will at 
the cost of pain and death ; but when man learns to use his 
intellect for the good of humanity, he will gain spiritual 
power over life and in addition, will be guided by an innate 
knowledge as much higher than the present brain-conscious- 
ness as that is higher than the lowest animal consciousness. 

The fall into generation was necessary to build the 
brain, but that is, at best, only an indirect way of gaining 
knowledge and will be superseded by direct touch with the 
Wisdom of Nature, which man, without any co-operation, 
will then be able to use for the generation of new bodies. 
The larnyx will again speak "the lost Word," the "creative 
Fiat," which, under the guidance of great Teachers, was 



364 



ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 



used in ancient Lemuria in the creation of plants and 
animals. 

Man will then be a creator in very truth. Not in the 
slow and toilsome manner of the present day, but by the 
use of the proper word or magical formula, will he be able 
to create a body. 

All that was manifested during the descending period 
of involution remains until the corresponding point on the 
ascending arc of evolution has been reached. The present 
generative organs will degenerate and atrophy. The female 
organ was the first to come into existence as a separate 
unit and, according to the law that "the first shall be 
last,'^ will be the last to atrophy. The male organ was 
differentiated last and is even now commencing to divide 
itself from the body. Diagram 13 will make this clear. 



0id<r^ini5, 




CDdttna Ulorld 



PART III. 

Man's Future Development 
and Initiation. 



CHAPTER XV. 
Christ and His Mission. 

The Evolution of Religion. 

IN the foregoing part of this work we have become 
familiar with the way in which our present outside 
world came into existence, and how man evolved the 
complicated organism with which he is related to outer 
conditions. We have also, in a measure, studied the 
Jewish Race-religion. We will next consider the last 
and greatest of the divine measures put forth for the 
uplifting of humanity, i. e., Christianity, which will be 
the Universal Religion of the future. 

It is a notable fact that man and his religions have 
evolved side by side and in an equal degree. The earliest 
religion of any Race is found to be as savage as the people 
governed by it and as they become more civilized, their 
religions become more and more humane and in harmony 
with higher ideals. 

From this fact materialists have drawn the inference 
that no religion has a higher origin than man himself. 
Their investigations into early history have resulted in a 
conviction that, as man progressed, he civilized his God 
and fashioned Him after his own pattern. 

This reasoning is defective, because it fails to take into 
account that man is not the body, but an indwelling spirit, 
an Ego who uses the body with ever-increasing facility as 
evolution progresses. 

367 



368 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

There is no doubt that the law for the body is "The 
Survival of the Fittest/^ The law for the evolution of 
the spirit demands "Sacrifice." As long as man believes 
that "Might is Eight/' the Form prospers and waxes 
strong, because all obstacles are swept out of the way re- 
gardless of others. If the body were all, that manner of 
life would be the only one possible for man. He would be 
altogether incapable of any regard for others and would 
forcibly resist any attempt to encroach upon what he con- 
sidered his rights — the right of the stronger, which is the 
sole standard of justice under the law of the Survival of 
the Fittest. He would be quite regardless of his fellow- 
beings; absolutely insensible to any force from without 
that tended to make him act in any manner not conducive 
to his own momentary pleasure. 

It is manifest, then, that whatever urges man toward a 
higher standard of conduct in his dealing with others must 
come from within j and from a source which is not identical 
with the body, otherwise it would not strive with the body 
and often prevail against its most obvious interests. More- 
over, it must be a stronger force than that of the body, or 
it could not succeed in overcoming its desires and com- 
pelling it to make sacrifices for those who are physically 
weaker. 

That such a force exists, surely no one will deny. We 
have come to that stage in our advancement where, instead 
of seeing in physical weakness an opportunity for easy 
prey, we recognize in the very frailty of another a valid 
claim upon our protection. Selfishness is being slowly 
but surely routed by Altruism. 

Nature is sure to accomplish her purposes. Though 
slow, her progress is orderly and certain. In the breast of 
every man this force of Altruism works as a leaven. It is 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 369 

transforming the savage into the civilized man^ and will in 
time transform the latter into a God. 

Though nothing that is truly spiritual can he thoroughly- 
comprehended, yet it may at least be apprehended by means 
of an illustration. 

If one of two tuning-forks of exactly the same pitch is 
struck, the sound will induce the same vibration in the 
other, weak to begin with, but if the strokes are continued, 
the second fork will give out a louder and louder tone 
until it will emit a volume of sound equal to that of the 
first. This will happen though the forks are several feet 
apart, and even if one of them is encased in glass. The 
sound from the smitten one will penetrate the glass and 
the answering note be emitted by the enclosed instrument. 

These invisible sound-vibrations have great power over 
concrete matter. They can both build and destroy. If a 
small quantity of very fine powder is placed upon a brass 
or glass plate, and a violin bow drawn across the edge, the 
vibrations will cause the powder to assume beautiful geo- 
metrical figures. The human voice is also capable of pro- 
ducing these figures; always the same figure for the same 
tone. 

If one note or chord after another be sounded upon a 
musical instrument — a piano^ or preferably a violin, for 
from it more gradations of tone can be obtained — a tone 
will finally be reached which will cause the hearer to feel 
a distinct vibration in the back of the lower part of the 
head. Each time that note is struck, the vibration will be 
felt. That note is the "key-note" of the person whom it so 
affects. If it is struck slowly and soothingly it will build 
and rest the body, tone the nerves and restore health. If, 
on the other hand, it be sounded in a dominant way, loud 



370 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

and long enough, it will kill as surely as a bullet from a 
pistol. 

If we now apply what has been said about music or 
sound to the problem of how this inner force is awakened 
and strengthened, we may perhaps understand the matter 
better. 

In the first place, let us particularly note the fact that 
the two tuning-forks were of the same pitch. Had this not 
been the case, we might have sounded and sounded one of 
them until the crack of doom, but the other one would 
have remained mute. Let us understand this thoroughly: 
Vibration can be induced in one tuning-fork by one of 
nice tone only. Any thing, or any being, can be affected as 
above stated by no sound except its own hey-note. 

We know that this force of Altruism exists. We also 
know that it is less pronounced among uncivilized people 
tHan among people of higher social attainment, and among 
the very lowest races it is almost entirely lacking. The 
logical conclusion is that there was a time when it was 
altogether absent. Consequent upon this conclusion fol- 
lows the natural question: What induced it? 

The material personality surely had nothing to do with 
it; in fact, that part of man's nature was much more com- 
fortable without it than it has been at any time since. 
Man must have had the force of Altruism latent within, 
otherwise it could not have been awakened. Still further, 
it must have been awakened by a force of the same kind — 
a similar force that was already active — as the second 
tuning-fork was started into vibration by the first after 
it was struck. 

We also saw that the vibrations in the second fork be- 
came stronger and stronger under the continued impacts of 
sound from the first, and that a glass case was no hindrance 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 371 

to the induction of the sound. Under the continued im- 
pacts of a force similar to that within him, the Love of 
God to man has awakened this force of Altruism and is 
constantly increasing its potency. 

It is therefore reasonable and logical to conclude that, 
at first, it was necessary to give man a religion commen- 
surate with his ignorance. It would have been useless 
to talk to him, at that stage, of a God Who was all tender- 
ness and love. From his viewpoint, those attributes were 
weaknesses and he could not have been expected to rever- 
ence a God Who possessed what were to him despicable 
qualities. The God to Whom he rendered obedience must 
be a strong God, a God to be feared, a God Who could 
hurl the thunderbolt and wield the flail of the lightning. 

Thus, man was impelled first to fear God and was given 
religions of a nature to further his spiritual well-being 
under the lash of fear. 

The next step was to induce in him a certain kind of 
unselfishness, by causing him to give up part of his worldly 
goods — to sacrifice. This was achieved by giving him the 
Tribal or Eace-God, Who is a jealous God, requiring of 
him the strictest allegiance and the sacrifice of wealth, 
which the growing man greatly prizes. But in return, this 
Eace-God is a friend and mighty ally, fighting man's bat- 
tles and giving him back many fold the sheep, bullocks 
and grain which he sacrificed. He had not yet arrived at 
the stage where it was possible for him to understand 
that all creatures are akin, but the Tribal God taught 
him that he must deal mercifully with his brother tribes- 
man and gave laws which made for equity and fair dealing 
between men of the same Eace. 

It must not be thought that these successive steps were 
taken easily, nor without rebellion and lapses upon the 



372 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

part of primitive man. Selfishness is ingrained in the 
lower nature even unto this day, and there must have been 
many lapses and much backsliding. We have in the Jew- 
ish Bible good examples of how man forgot, and had to 
be patiently and persistently "prodded" again and again by 
the Tribal God. Only the visitations of a long-suffering 
Eace-spirit were potent, at times, in bringing him back to 
the law — that law very few people have even yet learned 
to obey. 

There are always pioneers, however, who require some- 
thing higher. When they become sufficiently numerous, a 
new step in evolution is taken, so that several gradations 
always exist. There came a time, nearly two thousand 
years ago, when the most advanced of humanity were 
ready to take another step forward, and learn the religion 
of living a good life for the sake of future reward in a state 
of 'existence in which they must have faith. 

That was a long, hard step to take. It was compara- 
tively easy to take a sheep or a bullock to the temple and 
offer it as a sacrifice. If a man brought the first-fruits of 
his granary, his vineyards, or his flocks and herds, he still 
had more, and he knew that the Tribal God would refill 
his stores and give abundantly in return. But in this 
new departure, it was not a question of sacrificing his 
goods. It was demanded that he sacrifice himself. It was 
not even a sacrifice to be made by one supreme effort of 
martyrdom ; that also would have been comparatively easy. 
Instead, it was demanded that day by day, from morning 
until night, he must act mercifully toward all. He must 
forego selfishness, and love his neighbor, as he had been 
used to loving himself. Moreover, he was not promised 
any immediate and visible reward, but must have faith in 
a future happiness. 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 373 

Is it strange that people find it difficult to realize this 
high ideal of continued well-doing, made doubly hard by 
the fact that self-interest is entirely ignored ? Sacrifice is 
demanded with no positive assurance oif any reward. 
Surely it is much to the credit of humanity that so much 
altruism is practiced and that it is constantly increasing. 
The wise Leaders, knowing the frailness of the spirit to 
cope with the selfish instincts of the body, and the dangers 
of despondency in the face of such standards of conduct, 
gave another uplifting impulse when they incorporated in 
the new religion the doctrine of "vicarious Atonement." 

This idea is scouted by some very advanced philosophers, 
and the law of "Consequence" made paramount. If it so 
happens that the reader agrees with these philosophers, 
we request that he await the explanation herein set forth, 
showing how both are part of the scheme of upliftment. 
Suffice it to say, for the present, that this doctrine of 
atonement gives many an earnest soul the strength to 
strive and, in spite of repeated failures, to bring the lower 
nature under subjection. Let it be remembered that, for 
reasons given when the laws of Eebirth and Consequence 
were discussed, western humanity knew practically noth- 
ing of these laws. With such a great ideal before them 
as the Christ, and believing they had but a few short years 
in which to attain to such a high degree of development as 
this, would it not have been the greatest imaginable cruelty 
to leave them without help ? Therefore, the GREAT SAC- 
RIFICE on Calvary — while it also served other purposes, 
as will be shown — became rightfully the Beacon of Hope 
for every earnest soul who is striving to achieve the impos- 
sible; to attain, in one short life, to the perfection 
demanded by the Christian religion. 



374 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Jesus and Christ-Jesus. 

To gain some slight insight into the Great Mystery of 
Golgotha, and to understand the Mission of Christ as the 
Founder of the Universal Eeligion of the future, it is 
necessary that we first become familiar with His exact 
nature and incidentally, with that of Jehovah, Who is the 
head of such Eace-religions as Taoism, Buddhism, Hindu- 
ism, Judaism, etc. ; also with the identity of "The Father," 
to Whom Christ is to give up the Kingdom, in due time. 

In the Christian creed occurs this sentence: "Jesus 
Christ, the only begotten Son of God." This is generally 
understood to mean that a certain person Who appeared 
in Palestine about 2,000 years ago, Who is spoken of as 
Jesus Christ — one separate individual — was the only be- 
gotten Son of God. 

iThis is a great mistake. There are three distinct and 
widely different Beings characterized in this sentence. It 
is of the greatest importance that the student should clearly 
understand the exact nature of these Three Great and 
Exalted Beings — differing vastly in glory, yet each entitled 
to our deepest and most devout adoration. 

The student is requested to turn to diagram 6 and note 
that "The only begotten" ("The Word," of Whom John 
speaks) is the second aspect of the Supreme Being. 

This "Word," and it alone, is "begotten of His Father 
(the first aspect) before all Worlds." "Without Him was 
not anything made that was made," not even the third 
aspect of the Supreme Being, which proceeds from the 
two previous aspects. Therefore the "only begotten" is 
the exalted Being which ranks above all else in the Uni- 
verse, save only the Power-aspect which created It. 

The first aspect of the Supreme Being "thinks out," or 
imagines, the Universe before the beginning of active 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 375 

manifestation, everything, including the millions of Solar 
Systems and the great creative Hierarchies which inhabit 
the Cosmic Planes of existence above the seventh, which is 
the field of our evolution (See diagram 6). This is also 
the Force which dissolves everything that has crystallized 
beyond the possibility of further growth and at last, when 
the end of active manifestation has come, reabsorbs within 
Itself all that is, until the dawn of another Period of 
Manifestation. 

The second aspect of the Supreme Being is that which 
manifests in matter as the forces of attraction and cohe- 
sion, thus giving it the capability of combining into Forms 
of various kinds. This is "The Word," the "creative 
Fiat," which molds the primordial Cosmic Eoot-substance 
in a manner similar to the formation of figures by musical 
vibrations, as previously mentioned, the same tone always 
producing the same figure. So this great primordial 
*'WORD" brought, or "spoke," into being, in finest matter, 
all the different Worlds, with all their myriads of Forms, 
which have since been copied and worked out in detail by 
the innumerable creative Hierarchies. 

"The Word" could not have done this, however, until 
the third aspect of the Supreme Being had first prepared 
the Cosmic Eoot-substance; had awakened it from its nor- 
mal state of inertia and set the countless inseparate atoms 
spinning upon their axes, placing those axes at various 
angles with respect to each other, giving to each kind a cer- 
tain "measure of vibration." 

These varying angles of inclination of the axes and tlie 
measures of vibration made the Cosmic Eoot-substance 
capable of forming different combinations, which are the 
bases of the seven great Cosmic Planes. There is, in each 
of these Planes, a different declination of the axes, and 



376 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

also a different measure of vibration, consequently the con- 
ditions and combinations in each one are different from 
those in any of the others, due to the activity of "The 
Only Begotten." 

Diagram 14 shows us that: 
"The Father" is the highest Initiate among the humanity 

of the Saturn Period. The ordinary humanity of 

that Period are now the Lords of Mind. 
"The Son" (Christ) is the highest Initiate of the Sun 

Period. The ordinary humanity of that Period are 

now the Archangels. 
"The Holy Spirit" (Jehovah) is the highest Initiate of 

the Moon Period. The ordinary humanity of that 

Period are now the Angels. 
This diagram also shows what are the vehicles of these 
different orders of Beings, and upon comparison with 
diagram 8, it will be seen that their bodies or vehicles 
(indicated by squares on diagram 14) correspond to the 
Globes of the Period in which they were human. This is 
always the case so far as the ordinary humanities are 
concerned, for at the end of the Period during which any 
life wave becomes individualized as human beings, those 
beings retain todies corresponding to the Globes on which 
they have functioned. 

On the other hand, the Initiates have progressed and 
evolved for themselves higher vehicles, discontinuing the 
ordinary use of the lowest vehicle when the ability to use a 
new and higher one has been attained. Ordinarily, the 
lowest vehicle of an Archangel is the desire body, but 
Christ, Who is the highest Initiate of the Sun Period, 
ordinarily uses the life spirit as lowest vehicle, functioning 
as consciously in the World of Life Spirit as we do in the 
Physical World. The student is requested to note this 



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378 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

point particularly, as the World of Life Spirit is the first 
universal World, as explained in the chapter on Worlds. It 
is the World in which differentiation ceases and unity 
begins to be realized, so far as onr solar system is 
concerned. 

Christ has power to build and function in a vehicle as 
low as the desire body, such as is used by the Archangels, 
but He can descend no further. The significance of this 
will be seen presently. 

Jesus belongs to our humanity. When the man, Jesus, 
is studied through the memory of nature, he can be traced 
back life by life, where he lived in different circumstances, 
under various names, in different incarnations, the same, 
in that respect, as any other human being. This cannot he 
done with the Being, Christ. In His case can he found hut 
one incarnation. 

•It must not be supposed, however, that Jesus was an 
ordinary individual. He was of a singularly pure type of 
mind, vastly superior to the great majority of our present 
humanity. Through many lives had he trod the Path of 
Holiness and thus fitted himself for the greatest honor 
ever bestowed upon a human being. 

His mother, the Virgin Mary, was also a type of the 
highest human purity and because of that was selected to 
become the mother of Jesus. His father was a high Ini- 
tiate, virgin, and capable of performing the act of fecunda- 
tion as a sacrament, without personal desire or passion. 

Thus the beautiful, pure and lovely spirit whom we 
know as Jesus of Nazareth was born into a pure and pas- 
sionless body. This body was the best that could be pro- 
duced on Earth and the task of Jesus, in that incarnation, 
was to care for it and evolve it to the highest possible 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 379 

degree of efficiency, in preparation for the great purpose it 
was to serve. 

Jesus of Nazareth was born at about the time stated in 
the historic records, and not 105 B. C, as stated in some 
occult works. The name Jesus is common in the East, 
and an Initiate named Jesus did live 105 B. C, but he 
took the Egyptian Initiation, and was not Jesus of Naza- 
reth, with whom we are concerned. 

The Individual who later incarnated under the name 
of Christian Eosenkreuz was already in a high incarnation 
when Jesus of Nazareth was born, and is incarnate today. 
His testimony, as well as the results of first-hand investi- 
gation by later Eosicrucians, all agree in placing the birth 
of Jesus of Nazareth at the beginning of the Christian Era, 
on about the date usually ascribed to that event. 

Jesus was educated by the Essenes and reached a very 
high state of spiritual development during the thirty years 
in which he used his body. 

It may here be said, parenthetically, that the Essenes 
were a third sect which existed in Palestine, besides the 
two mentioned in the New Testament — the Pharisees and 
the Sadducees. The Essenes were an exceedingly devout 
order, widely different from the materialistic Sadducees 
and entirely opposite to the hypocritical, publicity seeking 
Pharisees. They shunned all mention of themselves and 
their methods of study and worship. To the latter pecu- 
liarity is due the fact that almost nothing is known of 
them, and that they are not mentioned in the New 
Testament. 

It is a law of the Cosmos that no Being, however high, 
can function in any world without a vehicle built of the 
material of that world (See diagrams 8 and 14). There- 
fore the desire body was the lowest vehicle of the group oi 



380 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

spirits who had reached the human stage in the Sun 
Period. 

Christ was one of those spirits and was consequently un- 
able to build for Himself a vital body and a dense physical 
vehicle. He could have worked upon humanity in a desire 
bod}^, as did His younger brothers, the Archangels, as 
Race-spirits. Jehovah had opened an avenue for them to 
enter the dense body of man by means of the air he in- 
haled. All Eace-religions were religions of law, and cre- 
ators of sin through disobedience of that law. They were 
under the direction of Jehovah, Whose lowest vehicle is the 
human spirit, correlating Him to the World of Abstract 
Thought, where everything is separative and therefore 
leads to self-seeking. 

That is precisely the reason why the intervention of 
Christ became necessary. Under the regime of Jehovah 
uflity is impossible. Therefore the Christ, Who possesses 
as a lowest vehicle the unifying life spirit, must enter 
into the dense human body. He must appear as a man 
among men and dwell in this body, because only from 
within is it possible to conquer the Race-religion, which 
influences man from without. 

Christ could not be horn in a dense body, because He 
had never passed through an evolution such as the Eaj:th 
Period, therefore He would first have had to acquire the 
ability to build a dense body such as ours. But even had 
He possessed that ability, it would have been inexpedient 
for such an exalted Being to expend for that purpose the 
energy necessary for body-building through ante-natal life, 
childhood and youth, to bring it to sufficient maturity for 
use. He had ceased to use vehicles such as would corre- 
spond to our human spirit, mind and desire body. He 
learned to build them in the Sun Period, and retained the 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 381 

ability to build and function in them whenever desired 
or required. He used all his own vehicles, taking only 
the vital and dense bodies from Jesus. When the latter 
was 30 years of age Christ entered these bodies and used 
them until the climax of His Mission on Golgotha. After 
the destruction of the dense body, Christ appeared among 
His disciples in the vital body, in which He functioned for 
some time. The vital body is the vehicle which He will 
use when He appears again, for He will never take another 
dense body. 

It is encroaching upon a subject to be dealt with later 
to remark that the object of all esoteric training is to so 
work on the vital body that the life spirit is built up and 
quickened. When we come to deal with Initiation it may 
be possible to give more detailed explanations, but no more 
can be said on the subject just now. In chronicling the 
events incident to post mortem existence, this subject has 
been partially dealt with and the student is here asked to 
note that a man is supposed to have conquered his desire 
body to a considerable extent before attempting esoteri- 
cism. His esoteric training and the earlier Initiations are 
devoted to work on the vital body and result in the build- 
ing of the life spirit. At the time Christ entered the body 
of Jesus, the latter was a disciple of high degree, conse- 
quently his life spirit was well organized. Therefore, the 
lowest vehicle in which Christ functioned, and the best 
organized of the higher vehicles of Jesus, were identical; 
and Christ, when He took the vital body and the dense 
body of Jesus, was thus furnished with a complete chain 
of vehicles bridging the gap between the World of Life 
Spirit and the dense Physical World. 

The significance of the fact that Jesus had passed sev- 
eral initiations lies in the effect that has on the vital body. 



382 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Jesus' vital body was already attuned to the high vibrations 
of the life spirit. An ordinary man's vital body would 
have instantly collapsed under the terrific vibrations of 
the Great Spirit who entered Jesus' body. Even that 
body, pure and high-strung as it was, could not withstand 
those tremendous impacts for many years, and when we 
read of certain times when Christ withdrew temporarily 
from his disciples, as when he later walked on the sea to 
meet them, the esotericist knows that he drew out of 
Jesus' vehicles to give them a rest under the care of the 
Essene Brothers, who knew more of how to treat such 
vehicles than Christ did. 

This change was consummated with the full and free 
consent of Jesus, who knew during this entire incarnation 
that he was preparing a vehicle for Christ. He submitted 
gladly, that his brother humanity might receive the gigan- 
tic impetus which was given to its development by the 
mysterious sacrifice on Golgotha. 

Thus (as shown in diagram 14) Christ Jesus possessed 
the twelve vehicles, which formed an unbroken chain from 
the Physical World to the very Throne of God. There- 
fore He is the only Being in the Universe in touch with 
both God and man and capable of mediating between them, 
because He has, personally and individually, experienced 
all conditions and knows every limitation incidental to 
jDhysical existence. 

Christ is unique among all Beings in all the seven 
Worlds. He alone possesses the twelve vehicles. None 
save He is able to feel such compassion, nor so fully under- 
stand the position and needs of humanity; none save He 
is qualified to bring the relief that shall fully meet our 
needs. 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 383 

Thus do we know the nature of Christ. He is the high- 
est Initiate of the Sun Period and He took the dense and 
vital bodies of Jesus that He might function directly in 
the Physical World and appear as a man among men. 
Had He appeared in a manifestly miraculous manner, it 
would have been contrary to the scheme of evolution, be- 
cause at the end of the Atlantean Epoch humanity had 
been given freedom to do right or wrong. That they might 
learn to become self-governing, no coercion whatever could 
be used. They must know good and evil through experi- 
ence. Before that time they had been led willy-nilly, but 
at that time they were given freedom under the different 
Eace-religions, each religion adapted to the needs of its 
particular Tribe or Nation. 

Not Peace but a Sword. 

All Eace-religions are of the Holy Spirit. They are in- 
sufficient, because they are based on law, which makes for 
sin and brings death, pain and sorrow. 

All Eace-spirits know this, and realize that their reli- 
gions are merely steps to something better. This is shown 
by the fact that all Eace-religions, without exception, point 
to One Who is to come. The religion of the Persians 
pointed to Mithras; of the Chaldeans to Tammuz. The 
old Norse Gods foresaw the approach of '^The Twilight 
of the Gods," when Sutr, the bright Sun-spirit, shall super- 
sede them and a new and fairer order be established on 
"Gimle," the regenerated earth. The Egyptians waited 
for Horus, the new-born Sun. Mithras and Tammuz are 
also symbolized as Solar orbs and all the principal Temples 
were built facing the East, that the rays of the rising 
Sun might shine directly through the open doors; even 
Saint Peter's at Eome is so placed. All these facts show 



384 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

that it was generally known that the One Who was to 
come was a Snn-spirit and was to save hnmanity from 
the separative influences necessarily contained in all Race- 
religions. 

These religions were steps which it was necessary for 
mankind to take to prepare for the advent of Christ. Man 
must first cultivate a "self" before he can become really 
unselfish and understand the higher phase of Universal 
Brotherhood — unity of purpose and interest— for which 
Christ laid the foundation at His first coming, and which 
He will make living realities when He returns. 

As the fundamental principle of a Race-religion is sep- 
aration, inculcating self-seeking at the expense of other 
men and nations, it is evident that if the principle is car- 
ried to its ultimate conclusion it must necessarily have 
ail increasingly destructive tendency and finally frustrate 
evolution, unless succeeded by a more constructive religion. 

Therefore the separative religions of the Holy Spirit 
must give place to the unifying religion of the Son, which 
is the Christian religion. 

Law must give place to Love, and the separate Races and 
Nations be united in one Universal Brotherhood, with 
Christ as the Eldest Brother. 

The Christian religion has not yet had time to accom- 
plish this great object. Man is still in the toils of the 
dominant Race-spirit and the ideals of Christianity are 
yet too high for him. The intellect can see some of the 
beauties, and readily admits that we should love our ene- 
mies, but the passions of the desire body are still too 
strong. The law of the Race-spirit being "An eye for an 
eye," the Feeling is "I'll get even !" The heart prays for 
Love; the desire body hopes for Revenge. The intellect 
sees, in the abstract, the beauty of loving one's enemies, 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 385 

but in concrete cases it allies itself with the vengeful feel- 
ing of the desire body, pleading, as an excuse for "getting 
even/' that "the social organism must be protected." 

It is a matter for congratulation, however, that society 
feels compelled to apologize for the retaliative methods 
used. Corrective methods and mercy are becoming more 
and more prominent in the administration of the laws, as 
is shown by the favorable reception which has been accorded 
that very modern institution, the Juvenile Court. Fur- 
ther manifestation of this same tendency may be noted in 
the increasing frequency with which convicted prisoners 
are released on probation, under suspended sentence; also 
in the greater humanity with which prisoners of war are 
treated of late years. These are the vanguards of the sen- 
timent of Universal Brotherhood, which is slowly but 
surely making its influence felt. 

Yet, though the world is advancing and though, for in- 
stance, it has been comparatively easy for the writer to 
secure a hearing for his views in the different cities where 
he has lectured, the daily papers sometimes devoting to 
his utterances wliole pages (and front pages at that) so 
long as he confined himself to speaking of the higher 
worlds and the post mortem states, it has been very notice- 
able that as soon as the theme was Universal Brotherhood 
his articles have always been consigned to the waste-basket. 

The world in general is very unwilling to consider any- 
thing that is, as it thinks, "too" unselfish. There must be 
"something in it." Nothing is regarded as an entirely 
natural line of conduct if it offers no opportunity for 
"getting the best of" one's fellowmen. Commercial under- 
takings are planned and conducted on that principle and, 
before tlie minds of those who are enslaved b}" the desire 
to accumulate useless wealth, the idea of Universal Brother- 



386 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

hood conjures up frightful visions of the abolition of cap- 
italism and its inevitable concomitant, the exploitation of 
others, with the wreck of "business interests'^ implied 
thereby. The word ^^enslaved" exactly describes this con- 
dition. According to the Bible, man was to have dominion 
over the world, but in the vast majority of cases the reverse 
is true — it is the world which has dominion over man. 
Every man who has property interests will, in his saner 
moments, admit that they are a never-failing source of 
worry to him ; that he is constantly scheming to hold his 
possessions, or at least to keep from being deprived of them 
by "sharp practice," knowing that others are as constantly 
scheming to accomplish that, to them, desirable end. The 
man is the slave of what, with unconscious irony, he calls 
"my possessions," when in reality they possess him. Well 
did the Sage of Concord say, '^Things are in the saddle and 
ride mankind !" 

This state of affairs is the result of Eace-religions, with 
their system of law ; therefore do they all look for "One 
Who is to come." The Christian religion ALONE is not 
looking for One Who is to come, but for One Who is to 
come again. The time of this second coming depends 
upon when the Church can free itself from the State. The 
Church, especially in Europe, is bound to the Chariot of 
State. The ministers are fettered by economic considera- 
tions and dare not proclaim the truths that their studies 
have revealed to them. 

A visitor to Copenhagen, Denmark, recently witnessed a 
church confirmation service. The Church there is under 
State control and all ministers are appointed by the tem- 
poral power. The parishioners have nothing whatever to 
sav in the matter. They may attend church or not, as 



CHKiiST AND HIS MISSION 387 

they please, but they are compelled to pay the taxes which 
support the institution. 

In addition to holding office by the bounty of the State, 
the pastor of the particular church visited was decorated 
with several Orders conferred by the king, the glittering 
badges bearing silent but eloquent testimony as to the 
extent of his subserviency to the State. During the cere- 
mony, he prayed for the king and the legislators, that 
they might rule the country wisely. As long as kings and 
legislators exist, this prayer might be very appropriate, but 
it was a considerable shock to hear him add : ^^ . 
and. Almighty God, protect and strengthen our army and 
navy !" 

Such a prayer as this shows plainly that the God wor- 
shiped is the Tribal or National God — the Race-spirit, for 
the last act of the gentle Christ Jesus was to stay the sword 
of the friend who would have protected Him therewith. 
Although He said He had not come to send peace, but a 
sword, it was because He foresaw the oceans of blood that 
would be spilled by the militant "Christian" nations in 
their mistaken understanding of His teachings and because 
high ideals cannot be immediately attained by humanity. 
The wholesale murder of war and like atrocities are harsh, 
but they are potent illustrations of what Love would 
abolish. 

There is, apparently, a flat contradiction between the 
words of Christ Jesus, "I came not to send peace, but a 
sword," and the words of the celestial song which heralded 
the birth of Jesus, "On earth Peace, Goodwill toward men.^ 
This contradiction, however, is apparent only. 

There is as great an apparent contradiction between a 
woman's words and her actions when she says, "I am 
going to clean house and tidy up," and then proceeds to 



388 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

take up carpets and pile chairs one upon another, produc- 
ing general confusion in a previously orderly house. One 
observing only this aspect of the matter, would be justified 
in saying, "She is making matters worse instead of better," 
but when the purpose of her work is understood, the ex- 
pediency of the temporary disorder is realized and in the 
end her house will be the better for the passing disturbance. 
Similarly, we must bear in mind that the time which 
has elapsed since the coming of Christ Jesus is but little 
more than a moment in comparison with the duration of 
even one Day of Manifestation. We must learn, as did 
Whitman, to "know the amplitude of time," and look be- 
yond the past and present cruelties and jealousies of the 
warring sects to the shining age of Universal Brotherhood, 
which will mark the next great step of man^s progress on 
hi^ long and wondrous journey from the clod to the God, 
from protoplasm to conscious unity with the Father, that 

. . . one far-off, divine event 
To which the whole creation moves. 

It may be added that the above mentioned pastor, dur- 
ing the ceremony of receiving his pupils into the Church, 
taught them that Jesus Christ was a composite individual ; 
that Jesus was the mortal, human part, while Christ was 
the divine, immortal Spirit. Presumably, if the matter 
had been discussed with him, he would not have supported 
that statement, nevertheless in making it he stated an 
occult fact. 

The Star of Bethlehem. 

The unifying influence of the Christ has been symbolized 
in the beautiful legend of the worship of the three magi, 
or "wise men of the East," so skilfully woven by General 
Lew Wallace into his charming story, "Ben Hur." 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 389 

The three wise men — Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar — 
are the representatives of the white, yellow and black Eaces 
and symbolize the people of Europe, Asia and Africa, who 
are all led by The Star to the World- Savior, to Whom 
eventually "every knee shall bow," and Whom "every 
tongue shall confess"; Who shall unite all the scattered 
nations under the Banner of Peace and Goodwill; Who 
shall cause men to "beat their words into plowshares and 
their spears into pruning hooks." 

The Star of Bethlehem is said to have appeared at the 
time of the birth of Jesus, and to have guided the three 
wise men to the Savior. 

Much speculation has been indulged in as to the nature 
of this Star. Most material scientists have declared it a 
myth, while others have said if it were anything more 
than a myth, it might have been a "coincidence" — two 
dead Suns might have collided and caused a conflagration. 
Every mystic, however, knows the "Star" — yea, and the 
"Cross" also — not only as symbols connected with the life 
of Jesus and Christ Jesus, but in his own personal experi- 
ence. Paul says: "Until Christ be formed in you"; and 
the mystic, Angelus Silesius, echoes : 

Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born 
And not within thyself, thy soul will be forlorn. 
The Cross on Golgotha thou lookest to in vain 
Unless within thyself it be set up again. 

Eichard Wagner shows the intuitional knowledge of 
the artist when, to the question of Parsifal, "Who is The 
Grail?" Gurnemanz answers: 

That tell we not; 

But if thou hast by Him been bidden, 

From thee the truth will not stay hidden. 

. . . The land to Him no path leads through, 

And search but severs from Him wider 

When He Himself is not the Guider. 



390 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Under the "old dispensation" the path to Initiation was 
not open. It was for only the chosen few. Some might 
seek the path^ but only those who were guided to the Tem- 
ples by the Hierophants found entrance. Previous to the 
advent of Christ, there was no such sweeping invitation as 
"Whosoever will may come." 

At the moment the blood flowed on Golgotha, however, 
"the veil of the Temple was rent" (for reasons presently to 
be explained), and ever since that time, whosoever will 
seek admittance will surely find it. 

In the Temples of Mystery the Hierophant taught his 
pupils that there is in the Sun a spiritual, as well as a 
physical force. The latter force in the rays of the Sun 
is the fecundating principle in nature. It causes the 
growth of the plant world and thereby sustains the animal 
and human kingdoms. It is the upbuilding energy which 
is the source of all physical force. 

This physical, solar energy reaches its highest expres- 
sion in midsummer, when the days are longest and the 
nights are shortest, because the rays of the Sun then fall 
directly on the northern hemisphere. At that time the 
spiritual forces are the most inactive. 

On the other hand, in December, during the long win- 
ter niglits, the physical force of the solar orb is dormant 
and the spiritual forces reach their maximum degree of 
activity. 

The night between the 24th and the 25th of December 
is The Holy Night, par excellence, of the entire year. The 
Zodiacal sign of the immaculate celestial Virgin stands 
upon the eastern horizon near midnight, the Sun of the 
New Year is then born and starts upon his journey from 
the southernmost point toward the northern hemisphere, 
to save that part of humanity (physically) from the dark- 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 391 

ness and famine which would inevitably result if he were 
to remain permanently south of the equator. 

To the people of the northern hemisphere, where all 
our present-day religions originated, the Sun is directly 
below the Earth; and the spiritual influences are strong- 
est, in the north, at midnight of the 24th of December. 

That being the case, it follows as a matter of course that 
it would then be easiest for those who wished to take a 
definite step toward Initiation to get in conscious touch 
with the spiritual Sun especially for the first time. 

Therefore the pupils who were ready for Initiation were 
taken in hand by the Hierophants of the Mysteries, and 
by means of ceremonies performed in the Temple, were 
raised to a state of exaltation wherein they transcended 
physical conditions. To their spiritual vision, the solid 
Earth became transparent and they saw the Sun at mid- 
night — "The Star !" It was not the physical Sun they 
saw with spiritual eyes, however, but the Spirit in the Sun 
— The Christ — their Spiritual Savior, as the physical Sun 
was their physical Savior. 

This is the Star that shone on that Holy Night and 
that still shines for the mystic in the darkness of night. 
When the noise and confusion of physical activity are 
quieted, he enters into his closet and seeks the way to the 
King of Peace. The Blazing Star is ever there to guide 
him and his soul hears the prophetic song, "On earth 
Peace, Goodwill toward men." 

Peace and goodwill to all, without exception; no room 
for one single enemy or outcast! Is it any wonder that 
it is hard to educate humanity to such a high standard? 
Is there any better way to show the beauty of, and the 
necessity for peace, goodwill and love than by contrasting 
them with the present state of war, selfishness and hate? 



392 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow it casts. 
The higher our ideals, the more plainly can we see our 
shortcomings. 

Unfortunately, at the present stage of development, hu- 
manity is willing to learn only by the hardest experience. 
As a Race, it must become absolutely selfish to feel the 
bitter pangs caused by the selfishness of others, as one 
must know much sickness to be thoroughly thankful for 
health. 

The religion miscalled Christianity has therefore been 
the bloodiest religion known, not excepting Mohammedan- 
ism, which in this respect is somewhat akin to our mal- 
practiced Christianity. On the battle-field and in the 
Inquisition innumerable and unspeakable atrocities have 
been committed in the name of the gentle Nazarene. The 
S^ord and the Wine Cup, — the perverted Cross and Com- 
munion Chalice — have been the means by which the more 
powerful of the so-called Christian nations gained suprem- 
acy over the heathen peoples, and even over other but 
weaker nations professing the same faith as their con- 
querors. The most cursory reading of the history of the 
Graeco-Latin, Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon Races will cor- 
roborate this. 

While man was under the full sway of Race-religions 
each nation was an united whole. Individual interests were 
willingly subordinated to the community interests. All 
were "under the law.'^ All were members of their respec- 
tive tribes first, and individuals only secondarily. 

At the present time there is a tendency toward the other 
extreme — to exalt "self^ above all else. The result is evi- 
dent in the economic and industrial problems that are 
facing every nation and clamoring for solution. 

The state of development wherein every man feels him- 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 393 

self an absolutely separate unit, an Ego, independently 
pursuing his own course, is a necessary stage. The 
national, tribal and family unity must first be broken up 
before Universal Brotherhood can become a fact. The 
regime of Paternalism has been largely superseded by the 
reign of Individualism. We are learning the evils of the 
latter more and more as our civilization advances. Our 
unsystematic method of distributing the products of labor, 
the rapacity of the few and the exploitation of the many — 
these social crimes result in under-consumption, industrial 
depressions and labor disturbances, destroying internal 
peace. The industrial war of the present day is vastly 
more far-reaching and destructive than the military wars 
of the nations. 

The Heart as an Anomaly. 

No lesson, though its truth may be superficially assented 
to, is of any real value as an active principle of the life 
until the heart has learned it in longing and bitterness, 
and the lesson man must so learn is that what is not bene- 
ficial to all can never be truly beneficial to any. For 
nearly 2,000 years we have lightly assented with our lips 
that we should govern our lives in accordance with such 
maxims as, "Return good for evil.^' The Heart urges 
mercy and love, but the Eeason urges belligerent and re- 
taliatory measures, if not as revenge, at least as a means 
of preventing a repetition of hostilities. It is this divorce 
of head from heart that hinders the growth of a true feel- 
ing of Universal Brotherhood and the adoption of the 
teachings of Christ — the Lord of Love. 

The mind is the focusing-point by means of which the 
Ego becomes aware of the material universe. As an in- 
strument for the acquisition of knowledge in those realms 



394 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the mind is invaluable, but when it arrogates to itself the 
role of dictator as to the conduct of man to man, it is as 
though the lens should say to an astronomer who was in 
the act of photographing the Sun through a telescope: 
"You have me improperly focused. You are not looking 
at the Sun correctly. I do not think it is good to photo- 
graph the Sun anyway, and I want you to point me at 
Jupiter. The rays of the Sun heat me too much and are 
liable to damage me." 

If the astronomer exercises his will and focuses the 
telescope as he desires, telling it to attend to its business 
of transmitting the rays that strike it, leaving the results 
to him, the work will proceed well, but if the lens has the 
stronger will and the mechanism of the telescope is in 
league with it, the astronomer will be seriously hampered 
ift having to contend with a refractory instrument, and 
the result will be blurred pictures, of little or no value. 

Thus it is with the Ego. It works with a threefold 
body, which it controls, or should control through the 
mind. But, sad to say, this body has a will of its own and 
is often aided and abetted by the mind, thus frustrating 
the purposes of the Ego. 

This antagonistic ^^lower will" is an expression of the 
higher part of the desire body. When the division of the 
Sun, Moon and Earth took place, in the early part of the 
Lemurian Epoch, the more advanced portion of humanity- 
in-the-making experienced a division of the desire body 
into a higher and a lower part. The rest of humanity did 
likewise in the early part of the Atlantean Epoch. 

This higher part of the desire body became a sort of 
animal-soul. It built the cerebro-spinal nervous system 
and the voluntary muscles, by that means controlling the 
lower part of the threefold body until the link of mind was 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 395 

given. Then the mind ^^coalesced'^ with this animal-soul 
and became a co-regent. 

The mind is thus bound up in desire ; is enmeshed in the 
selfish lower nature, making it difficult for the spirit to 
control the body. The focusing mind, which should be the 
ally of the higher nature, is alienated by and in league 
with the lower nature — enslaved by desire. 

The law of the Eace-religions was given to emancipate 
intellect from desire. The "fear of God" was pitted against 
"the desires of the flesh." This, however, was not enough 
to enable one to become master of the body and secure 
its willing co-operation. It became necessary for the spirit 
to find in the body another point of vantage, which was 
not under the sway of the desire nature. All muscles are 
expressions of the desire body and a straight road to the 
capital, where the traitorous mind is wedded to desire and 
reigns supreme. 

If the United States were at war with France, it would 
not land troops in England, hoping in that way to subju- 
gate the French. It would land its soldiers directly in 
France, and fight there. 

Like a wise general, the Ego followed a similar course 
of action. It did not commence its campaign by getting 
control of one of the glands, for they are expressions of 
the vital body; nor was it possible to get control of the 
voluntary muscles, for they are too well garrisoned by the 
enemy. That part of the involuntary muscular system 
which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system 
would also be useless for the purpose. It must get into a 
more direct touch with the cerebro-spinal nervous system. 
To do this, and secure a base of operations in the enemy's 
country, it must control a muscle which is involuntary, and 



396 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

yet connected with the voluntary nervous system. Such a 
muscle is the heart. 

We have previously spoken of the two kinds of muscles 
— voluntary and involuntary. The latter are formed in 
lengthwise stripes and are connected with functions not 
under the control of the will, such as digestion, respiration, 
excretion, etc. The voluntary muscles are those which 
are controlled by the will through the voluntary nervous 
system, such as the muscles of the hand and arm. They 
are striped both lengthwise and crosswise. 

The above is true of all muscles in the body except the 
hearty which is an involuntary muscle. Ordinarily, we 
cannot control the circulation. Under normal conditions 
the heart-beat is a fixed quantity, yet to the bewilderment 
of physiologists, the heart is cross-striped like a voluntary 
mtiscle. It is the only organ in the body exhibiting this 
peculiarity but, sphinx-like, it refuses to give material 
scientists an answer to the riddle. 

The occult scientist easily finds the answer in the mem- 
ory of nature. From that record he learns that when the 
Ego first sought a stronghold in the heart, the latter was 
striped lengthwise only, the same as any other involuntary 
muscle ; but as the Ego gained more and more control over 
the heart, the cross-stripes have gradually developed. They 
are not so numerous nor so well-defined as on the muscles 
under the full control of the desire body, but as the altru- 
istic principles of love and brotherhood increase in strength 
and gradually overrule the reason, which is based in desire, 
so will these cross-stripes become more numerous and more 
marked. 

As previously stated, the seed-atom of the dense body 
is located in the heart during life and withdrawn only at 
death. The active work of the Ego is in the blood. Now, 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 397 

if we except the lungs, the heart is the only organ in the 
body through which all the blood passes in every cycle. 

The blood is the highest expression of the vital body 
for it nourishes the entire physical organism. It is also, 
in a sense, the vehicle of the subconscious memory, and in 
touch with the Memory of Nature, situated in the highest 
division of the Etheric Eegion. The blood carries the pic- 
tures of life from ancestors to descendants for generations, 
where there is a common blood, as produced by inbreeding. 
. There are in the head three points, each of which is 
the particular seat of one of the three aspects of the spirit 
(See diagram 14), the second and third aspects having, in 
addition, secondary vantage grounds. 

The desire body is the perverted expression of the Ego. 
It converts the "Selfhood" of the spirit into "selfishness." 
Selfhood seeks not its own at the expense of others. Self- 
ishness seeks gain regardless of others. The seat of the 
human spirit is primarily in the pineal gland and sec- 
ondarily in the brain and cerebro-spinal nervous system, 
which control the voluntary muscles. 

The love and unity in the World of the Life Spirit find 
their illusory counterpart in the Etheric Eegion, to which 
we are correlated by the vital body, which latter promotes 
sex love and sex union. The life spirit has its seat pri- 
marily in the pituitary body and secondarily in the heart, 
which is the gateway of the blood that nourishes the 
muscles. 

The actionless Divine Spirit — The Silent Watcher — 
finds its material expression in the passive, inert and irre- 
sponsive skeleton of the dense body, which is the obedient 
instrument of the other bodies, but has no power to act 
on its own initiative. The Divine Spirit has its strong- 
hold in the impenetrable point at the root of the nose. 



398 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

In reality there is but one spirit, the Ego, but looking at 
it from the Physical World, it is refracted into the three 
aspects, which work as stated. 

As the blood passes through the heart, cycle after cycle, 
hour after hour all through life, it engraves the pictures 
it carries upon the seed-atoms while they are still fresh, 
thus making a faithful record of the life which is indelibly 
impressed on the soul in the post mortem existence. It 
is always in closest touch with the life spirit, the spirit of 
love and unity, therefore the heart is the home of altruistic 
love. 

As these pictures pass inward to the World of Life Spirit, 
in which is the true memory of nature, they do not come 
through the slow physical senses, but directly through tne 
fourth ether contained in the air we breathe. In the 
World of Life Spirit the life spirit sees much more clearly 
than it can in the denser Worlds. In its high home it is in 
touch with the Cosmic Wisdom and in any situation it 
knows at once what to do and flashes the message of guid- 
ance and proper action back to the heart, which as in- 
stantaneously flashes it on to the brain through the medium 
of the pneumo-gastric nerve, resulting in "first impres- 
sions" — the intuitional impulse, which is always good, 
because it is drawn directly from the fountain of Cosmic 
Wisdom and Love. 

This is all done so quickly that the heart has control 
before the slower reason has had time to "take in the situa- 
tion," as it were. It is the thought that a man "thinketh 
in his heart," and it is true that "so is he." Man is 
inherently a virgin spirit, good, noble and true in every 
respect. All that is not good is from the lower nature, that 
illusory reflection, the Ego. The virgin spirit is always 
giving wise counsel. If we could only follow the impulses 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 399 

of the heart — the first thought — Universal Brotherhood 
would be realized here and now. 

But that is just the point where the trouble begins. 
After the good counsel of the first thought has been given, 
the brain begins to reason, with the result that, in the 
great majority of eases, it dominates the heart. The tele- 
scope arranges its own focus and points where it lists, 
despite the astronomer. The mind and the desire body- 
frustrate the designs of the spirit by taking control and, as 
they lack the spirit's wisdom, both spirit and body suifer. 

Physiologists note that certain areas of the brain are 
devoted to particular thought activities and phrenologists 
have carried this branch of science still further. Now, it 
is known that thought breaks down and destroys jierve 
tissues. This and all other waste of the body, is replaced 
by the blood. When, through the development of the heart 
into a voluntary muscle, the circulation of the blood finally 
passes under the absolute control of the unifying life spirit 
— the Spirit of Love — it will then be within the power of 
that spirit to withhold the blood from those areas of the 
mind devoted to selfish purposes. As a result, those par- 
ticular thought centers will gradually atrophy. 

On the other hand, it will be possible for the spirit to 
increase the blood supply when the mental activities are 
altruistic, and thus build up the areas devoted to altruism, 
so that, in time, the desire nature will be conquered and 
the mind emancipated by Love from its bondage to desire. 
It is only by complete emancipation, through Love, that 
man can rise above the law and become a law unto himself. 
Having conquered himself, he will have conquered all the 
World. 

The cross-stripes of the heart may be built by certain 
exercises under occult training, but as some of these exer- 



400 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

cises are dangerous, they should be undertaken only under 
the direction of a competent teacher. That no reader of 
this book may be deceived by impostors professing ability 
and willingness to so train aspirants for a consideration, 
it is emphatically repeated that No true occultist ever 
toasts, advertises his occult power, sells occult information 
or lessons at so much each or for a course; nor will he 
consent to a theatrical display. His work is done in the 
most unobtrusive manner possible and solely for the pur- 
pose of legitimately helping others, without thought of 
self. 

As said in the beginning of this chapter, all persons 
earnestly desiring the higher knowledge may rest assured 
that Lf they will but seek, they will find the way open for 
them. Christ Himself prepared the way for "whosoever 
\fill." He will help and welcome all real seekers, who are 
willing to work for Universal Brotherhood. 

The Mystery of Golgotha. 

During the last 2,000 years much has been said about 
"the cleansing blood." The blood of Christ has been 
extolled from the pulpit as the sovereign remedy for sin; 
the only means of redemption and salvation. . 

But if the laws of Eebirth and Consequence work in such 
a way that evolving beings reap as they have sown, and if 
the evolutionary impulse is constantly bringing humanity 
higher and higher, ultimately to attain perfection — where 
then is the need for redemption and salvation? Even if 
the need existed, how can the death of one individual help 
the rest ? Would it not be nobler to suffer the consequences 
of one's acts than to hide behind another ? These are some 
of the objections to the doctrine of vicarious atonement 
and redemption by the blood of Christ Jesus. We will try 



CHBIST AND HIS MISSION 401 

to answer them before showing the logical harmony be- 
tween the operation of the law of Consequence and the 
Atonement by Christ. 

In the first place, it is absolutely true that the evolution- 
ary impulse does work to achieve ultimate perfection for 
all; yet there are some who are constantly straggling be- 
hind. At the present time, we have just passed the extreme 
point of materiality and are going through the sixteen 
Races. We are treading "the sixteen paths to destruc- 
tion/' and are consequently in graver danger of falling 
behind than at any other part of the evolutionary journey. 

In the abstract, time is nothing. A number may fall 
behind so far that they must be abandoned, to take up their 
further evolution in another scheme, where they can con- 
tinue their journey to perfection. Nevertheless that was 
not the evolution originally designed for them and it is 
reasonable to suppose that the exalted Intelligences in charge 
of our evolution use every means to bring through in safety 
as many as possible of the entities under their charge. 

In ordinary evolution, the laws of Rebirth and Conse- 
quence are perfectly adequate for bringing the major por- 
tion of the life wave up to perfection, but they do not suffice 
in the case of the stragglers, who are lagging behind in the 
various Races. During the stage of individualism, which 
is the climax of the illusion of separateness, all mankind 
needs extra help, but for the stragglers some additional 
special aid must be provided. 

To give that special aid, to redeem the stragglers, was 
the mission of Christ. He said that He came to seek and 
to save that which was lost. He opened up the way of 
Initiation for all who are willing to seek it. 

Objectors to vicarious atonement urge : That it is cow- 



402 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-COXCEPTIOX 

ardly to hide behind another; that each man should he 
williDg to take the consequence of his act^. 

Let us consider an analogous case. The waters of the 
Great Lakes narrow into the Xiagara Eiver. For twenty- 
miles this enormous volume of water flows rapidly toward 
the falls. The river bed is filled with rocks and i " a person 
who goes beyond a certain point does not lose his life in the 
rapids above the cataract, he will surely do so by the plunge 
over the brink. 

Suppose a man appeared who, in pity for the victims of 
the cuiTent, placed a rope above the cataract, although he 
knew that the conditions were such that in doing so, he 
himself could not by any possible chance escape death. Yet 
gladly and of his own free will, he sacrificed his life and 
placed the rope, thus modifying former conditions so that 
aHy otherwise helpless victims who would grasp the rope 
would be saved and thenceforward none need be lost. 

What would we think of a man who had fallen into the 
water through his own carelessness, and was struggling 
madly to reach the shore, if he should say : '^hat ! Save 
myself and seek to avoid the penalty of my carelessness by 
shielding myself l^ehind the strength of another, who suf- 
fered through no fault of his own, and gave up his life that 
such as I might live? Xo, never! That would not be 
''manly.'* I will take my deserts !" Would we not all 
agree that the man was a fool ? 

Xot all are in need of salvation. Christ knew that there 
is a very large class who do not require salvation in this 
way, but just as surely as there are the ninety-and-nine 
who are well taken care of by the laws of Eebirth and 
Consequence and will reach perfection in that way, so there 
are the "sinners'' who have become '%)gged" in matter and 
cannot escape without a rope. Christ came to save them 



CHEIST AND HIS MISSION 403 

and to bring peace and good will to all, by raising them to 
the necessary point of spirituality, causing a change in 
their desire bodies which will make the influence of the 
life spirit in the heart more potent. 

His younger brother Sun-spirits, the Archangels, had 
worked as Eace-spirits on the desire bodies of man, but 
their work had been from tvithout. It was simply a re- 
flected spiritual Sun-force and came through the Moon — 
as moonlight is reflected sunlight. Christ, the Chief Ini- 
tiate of the Sun-spirits, entered directly into the dense 
body of the Earth and brought the direct Sun-force, thus 
enabling Him to influence our desire bodies from within. 

Man cannot gaze long upon the Sun without becoming 
blind because its vibrations are so rapid that they destroy 
the retina of the eye. But he can look without harmful 
results upon the Moon, the vibrations from which are much 
slower ; yet they also are sunlight, but the higher vibrations 
have been taken up by the Moon, which then reflects the 
residue to us. 

So it is with the spiritual impulses which help man to 
evolve. The reason why the Earth was thrown off from 
the Sun was because our humanity could not endure the 
Sun's tremendous physical and spiritual impulses. Even 
after an enormous distance had been placed betAveen Earth 
and Sun, the spiritual impulse would still have been too 
strong had it not been sent first to the Moon, to be used by 
Jehovah, the Eegent of the Moon, for man^s benefit. A 
number of Archangels (ordinary Sun-spirits) were given 
Jehovah as helpers in reflecting these spiritual impulses 
from the Sun upon the humanity of the Earth, in the form 
of Jehovaistic or Eace-religions. 

The lowest vehicles of the Archangels is the desire body. 
Our desire body was added in the Moon Period, at which 



404 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION 

time Jehovah was the highest Initiate. Therefore Jehovah 
is able to deal with man's desire body. Jehovah's lowest 
vehicle is the human spirit (see diagram 14) and its coun- 
terpart is the desire bod}^ The Archangels are His helpers 
because they are able to manage the spiritual Sun-forces 
and the desire body is their lowest vehicle. Thus they are 
able to work with and prepare humanity for the time when 
it can receive the spiritual impulses directly from the Solar 
Orb, without the intervention of the Moon. 

Upon Christ, as the highest Initiate of "^he Sun Period, 
is laid the task of sending out this impulse. The impulse 
which Jehovah reflected was sent out by Christ, Who thus 
prepared both the Earth and humanity for His direct 
ingress. 

The expression, ^'^prepared the Earth," means that all 
evolution on a planet is accompanied by the evolution of 
that planet itself. Had some observer gifted with spiritual 
sight watched the evolution of our Earth from some distant 
star, he would have noticed a gradual change taking place 
in the Earth's desire body. 

Under the old dispensation the desire bodies of people 
in general were improved by means of the law. This work 
is still going on in the majority of people, who are thus 
preparing themselves for the higher life. 

The higher life (Initiation) does not commence, how- 
ever, until the work on the vital body begins. The means 
used for bringing that into activity is Love, or rather 
Altruism. The former word has been so abused that it no 
longer conveys the meaning here required. 

During the old dispensation the path of Initiation was 
not free and open, except to the chosen few. The Hiero- 
phants of the Mysteries collected certain families about 
the Temples, setting them apart from all the other people. 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 405 

These chosen families were then rigorously guarded as 
to certain rites and ceremonies. Their marriages and 
sexual intercourse were regulated by the Hierophants. 

The effect of this was to produce a race having the 
proper degree of laxity between the dense and vital bodies; 
also to wake the desire body from its state of lethargy dur- 
ing sleep. Thus a special few were made fit for Initiation 
and were given opportunities that could not be given to all. 
We see instances of this method among the Jews, where the 
tribe of Levi were the chosen Templars; also in the caste 
of the Brahmins, who were the only priestly class among 
the Hindus. 

The Mission of Christ, in addition to saving the lost, was 
to make Initiation possible to all; therefore Jesus was not 
a Levite of the class to which priesthood came by inherit- 
ance. He came from the common people and, though 
not of the teacher class, His teaching was higher than 
that of Moses. 

Christ Jesus did not deny Moses,- the law, nor the 
prophets. On the contrary. He acknowledged them all and 
showed the people that they were His witnesses, as they all 
pointed to One Who was to come. He told the people that 
those things had served their purpose and that henceforth 
Love must supersede Law. 

Christ Jesus was killed. In connection with this fact, 
we come to the supreme and fundamental difference be- 
tween Him and the previous teachers, in whom the Race- 
spirits incarnated. They all died and must be reborn 
again and again to help their peoples bear their destiny. 
The Archangel Michael (the Eace-spirit of the Jews) 
raised up Moses, who was taken up to Mount Nebo to die. 
He was reborn as Elijah. Elijah returned as John the 
Baptist; Buddha died and was reincarnated as Shankara- 



406 ECSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

charya; Shii Krishna says^ "Whenever there is decay of 
Dharma . . . and . . . exaltation of Adharma, then 
I myself come forth for the protection of good, for the 
destruction of evil-doers, for the sake of firmly establishing 
Dharma. I am born from age to age." 

When death came Moses' face shone and Buddha's body 
became alight. They all reached the stage when the spirit 
begins to shine from within — but then they died. 

Christ Jesus reached that stage on the Mount of Trans- 
figuration. It is of the very highest significance that 
His real worh tooTc place subsequent to that event. He 
suffered; was hilled — and resurrected. 

Being killed is a very different thing from dying. The 
blood that had been the vehicle of the Race-spirit must 
-flow and be cleansed of that contaminating influence. Love 
of father and mother, exclusive of other fathers and moth- 
ers, must go — otherwise Universal Brotherhood and an 
all-embracing. Altruistic Love could never become an 
actuality. 

The Cleansing Blood. 

When the Savior Christ Jesus was crucified His body 
was pierced in five places; in the five centers where the 
currents of the vital body flow; and the pressure of the 
crown of thorns caused a flow from the sixth also. (This 
is a hint to those who already know these currents. A 
full elucidation of this matter cannot be publicly given 
out at this time.) 

When the blood flowed from these centers, the great 
Sun-spirit Christ was liberated from the physical vehicle 
of Jesus and found Himself in the Earth, with individual 
vehicles. The already existing planetary vehicles He per- 
meated with His own vehicles and, in the twinkling of an 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 407 

eye, diffused His own desire body over the planet, which 
has enabled Him thenceforth to work upon the Earth and 
its humanity from within. 

At that moment a tremendous wave of spiritual sunlight 
flooded the Earth. It rent the veil which the Kace-spirit 
had hung before the Temple to keep out all but the chosen 
few, and it made the Path of Initiation free thenceforth 
to whomsoever will. So far as concerned the Spiritual 
Worlds, this wave transformed the conditions of Earth 
like a flash of lightning, but the dense, concrete conditions 
are, of course, much more slowly affected. 

Like all rapid and high vibrations of light, this great 
wave blinded the people by its dazzling brilliance, there- 
fore it was said that "the Sun was darkened." The very 
opposite was what actually occurred. The Sun was not 
darkened, but shone out in glorious splendor. It was the 
excess of light that blinded the people, and only as the 
entire Earth absorbed the desire body of the bright Sun- 
spirit did the vibration return to a more normal rate. 

The expression, "the cleansing blood of Christ Jesus," 
means that as the blood flowed on Calvary, it bore with it 
the great Sun-spirit Christ, Who by that means secured 
admission to the earth itself and since that moment has 
been its Eegent. He diffused His own desire body through- 
out the planet, thereby cleansing it from all the vile influ- 
ences which had grown up under the regime of the Eace- 
spirit. 

Under the law all sinned; nay, more — they could not 
help it. They had not evolved to where they could do 
right for Love's sake. The desire nature was so strong that 
it was an impossibility for them to rule it altogether, there- 
fore their debts, engendered under the law of Consequence, 
piled up to monstrous proportions. Evolution would have 



408 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

been terribly delayed and many lost to our life wave 
altogether if some help had not been given. 

Therefore did Christ come "to seek and to save that 
which was lost." He took away the sin of the world by 
His cleansing blood, which gave Him entrance to the 
Earth and its humanity. He purified the conditions and 
we owe it to Him that we are able to gather for our desire 
bodies purer desire-stuff than formerly, and He continues 
working to help us, by making our external environment 
constantly purer. 

That this was and is done at the expense of great suf- 
fering to Himself, no one can doubt who is able to form 
the least conception of the limitations endured by that 
Great Spirit in entering the hampering conditions of 
physical existence, even in the best and purest vehicle pos- 
sible ; nor is His present limitation as Eegent of the Earth 
much less painful. True, He is also Eegent of the Sun, 
and therefore only partially confined to the Earth, yet the 
limitations set by the crampingly slow vibrations of our 
dense planet must be almost unendurable. 

Had Christ Jesus simply died, it would have been im- 
possible for Him to have done this work, but the Christians 
have a risen Savior ; One Who is ever present to help those 
who call upon His Name. Having suffered like unto our- 
selves in all things and knowing fully our needs. He is 
lenient toward our mistakes and failures so long as we 
continue trying to live the good life. We must ever keep 
before our eyes the fact that the only real failure is ceasing 
to try. 

Upon the death of the dense body of Christ Jesus, the 
other vehicles were returned to the original owner, Jesus 
of Nazareth, who for some time afterward, while function- 
ing in a vital body which he had gathered temporarily, 



CHRIST AND HIS MISSION 409 

taught the nucleus of the new faith which Christ had left 
behind. Jesus of Nazareth has since had the guidance of 
the esoteric branches which sprang up all over Europe. 

In many places the Knights of the Eound Table were 
high Initiates in the Mysteries of the New Dispensation. 
So were the Knights of The Grail — to whom was finally 
confided Joseph of Arimathea's Grail Cup, which was used 
by Christ Jesus at The Last Supper. They were after- 
ward entrusted also with the Lance which pierced His 
side, and the receptacle which received the blood from the 
wound. 

The Druids of Ireland and the Trottes of Northern 
Eussia were esoteric schools through which the Master 
Jesus worked during the so-called ^^Dark Ages/' but, dark 
though they were, the spiritual impulse spread, and from 
the standpoint of the occult scientist they were "Bright 
Ages'' compared to the growing materialism of the last 
300 years, which has increased physical knowledge im- 
mensely, but has almost extinguished the Light of the 
Spirit. 

Tales of "The Grail," "Knights of The Round Table," 
etc., are now scouted as superstitions and all that cannot 
be materially demonstrated is regarded as unworthy of 
belief. Glorious as are the discoveries of modern science, 
they have been bought at the terrible price of crushing the 
spiritual intuition and, from a spiritual standpoint, no 
darker day than the present has ever dawned. 

The Elder Brothers, Jesus among them, have striven 
and are striving to counteract this terrible influence, which 
is like that in the eyes of the snake, causing the bird to 
fall into its jaws. Every attempt to enlighten the people 
and awaken in them a desire to cultivate the spiritual side 
of life, is an evidence of the activity of the Elder Brothers. 



410 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

May their efforts be crowned with success and speed the 
day when modern science shall be spiritualized and con- 
duct its investigations of matter from the standpoint of 
spirit, for then, and not until then, will it arrive at a true 
knowledge of the world. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

PuTURE Development and Initiation. 
The Seven Days of Creation. 

THE Eosicrucian speaks of the Earth Period as Mars- 
Mercury. The great creative Day of Manifesta- 
tion is embodied in the names of the days of the 
week, for our week-days have been named after the evolu- 
tionary stages through which the virgin spirits pass in 
their pilgrimage through matter. 

Bay. Corresponds to the Is ruled by 

Saturday Saturn Period ., Saturn 

Sunday Sun Period The Sun 

Monday Moon Period The Moon 

Tuesday First half of the Earth Period Mars 

Wednesday .... Second half of the Earth Period. . . . Mercury 

Thursday Jupiter Period Jupiter 

Friday Venus Period Venus 

The Vulcan Period is the last Period of our scheme of 
evolution. The quintessence of all the preceding Periods 
is extracted by the recapitulation of spiral after spiral. 
No new work is done until the very last Eevolution on the 
very last Globe and then only in the Seventh Epoch. 
Therefore the Vulcan Period may be said to correspond to 
the week, which includes all of the seven days. 

The claim of astrologers that, the days of the week are 
ruled by the particular planet for which they are named, 
is well-founded. The ancients were also familiar with this 
occult knowledge, as is shown in their mythologies, in 

411 



412 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

which the names of the gods are associated with the days 
of the week. Saturday is plainly "Saturn's day" ; Sunday 
is correlated to the Sun, and Monday to the Moon. The 
Latins call Tuesday "Dies Martis/' which obviously shows 
its connection with Mars, the god of war. The name 
"Tuesday" is derived from "Tirsdag/' ^^ir" or "Tyr," 
being the name of the Norse god of war. "Wednesday" 
was "Wotensday/' from Woten, also a Norse god; it is 
called "Dies Mercurii" by the Latins, showing its associa- 
tion with Mercury, as given in our list. 

Thursda}^ or "Thorsdag," is named for "Thor," the 
Norse god of thunder, and is called "Dies Jovis" by the 
Latins, after the thunder gods, "Jove" and "Jupiter." 

Friday is named for the Norse goddess of beauty, 
"Freya," and for similar reasons, the Latins call it "Dies 
Veneris," or Day of Venus. 

These names of Periods have nothing to do with the 
physical planets, hut refer to past, present or future in- 
carnations of the Earth; for, again applying the Hermetic 
axiom, "As above, so below," the macrocosm must have its 
incarnations as well as the microcosm, man. 

Occult science teaches that there are 777 incarnations, 
but that does not mean that the Earth undergoes 777 
metamorphoses. It means that evolving life makes 
7 Eevolutions around the 
7 Globes of the 
7 World Periods. 

This pilgrimage of Involution and Evolution, including 
the "short cut" of Initiation, is embodied in the Caduceus, 
or "Staff of Mercury" (see diagram 15), so called because 
this occult symbol indicates The Path of Initiation, which 
has been open to man only since the beginning of the 
Mercury half of the Earth Period. Some of the lesser 



DIAGRAM 15 



The Seven Days of Creation 

AND 

The Four Great Initiations 



ORDINARY HUMANITY PURSUES THE SPIRAL PATH 
THE INITIATE GOES THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW WAY THAT LEADS 




Saturn -Period 

(Saturday) 
Violet 



Venus-Perioo 

(FRIDAY) 

Red 



Moon -Period 

(MONDAY) 

Blue 



Earth - 

MERCURY -HALF 
(WE0NE50AY)-YeLLOW 



MjlcanPeriod 

THEWEEK 
(embracing allthe cmvs) 
White 

(including AUTHeCOlOs) 



5uN- Period 

(SUNDAY) 

Indigo 



Jupiter-Period 
(thursdav) 
Orange 



- Period 

MARS -HALF 
(TUESDAY) GREEN 



The Wayof Initiation 
There was no initiation prior to the end of 
Mars half of the Earth Period .The lesser 
teries embrace Human Evoltion in the Mercury 
half of the Earth-Period 



THE 
M^- 



414 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

mysteries were given to the earlier Lemurians and Atlan- 
teans, but not the Four Great Initiations. 

The black serpent on diagram 15 indicates the winding, 
C3^clic path of Involution, comprising the Saturn, Sun and 
Mood Periods, and the Mars half of the Earth Period, 
during which the evolving life built its vehicles, not be- 
coming fully awake and clearly conscious of the outside 
world until the latter part of the Atlantean Epoch. 

The white serpent represents the path that the human 
race will follow through the Mercury half of the Earth 
Period, and the Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan Periods, dur- 
ing which pilgrimage man's consciousness will expand into 
that of an omniscient, Creative Intelligence. 

The serpentine path is the path followed by the great 
majority; but the "Staff of Mercur}^," around which the 
serpents twine, shows the "straight and narrow way," the 
path of Initiation, which enables those who walk therein 
to accomplish in a few short lives that which it requires 
millions of years for the majority of mankind to accom- 
plish. 

It need scarcely be said that no description of the initia- 
tory ceremonies can be given, as the first vow of the Ini- 
tiate is silence; but even if permissible, it would not be 
important. What concerns us in getting a bird's-eye view 
of the evolutionary path is to ascertain the results of the 
ceremonies. 

The whole result of initiation is to give to the spiritually 
aspiring an opportunity to develop the higher faculties 
and powers in a short time and by severe training, thereby 
gaining the expansion of consciousness that all mankind 
will surely possess eventually, but which the vast majority 
choose to acquire through the slow process of ordinary evo- 
lution. We may know the states of consciousness and 



FUTUEE DEVELOPMENT 415 

their concomitant powers attained by the candidate as he 
passes through successive great Initiations, provided we 
know what those future states and powers will be for hu- 
manity in general. Some hints have been given and more 
may be logically adduced by an application of the law of 
Correspondences, to give a fairly rounded picture of the 
evolution in store for all of us, and the magnitude of the 
great steps in Initiation. To do this it may help us to 
glance back over the steps by which the consciousness of 
man has been evolved through the various Periods. 

We remember that during the Saturn Period the uncon- 
sciousness of man was similar to that of the dense body 
when plunged into the deepest trance condition; this was 
succeeded, in the Sun period, by a dreamless-sleep con- 
sciousness. In the Moon Period the first glimmering of 
waking showed itself in inward pictures of outward things. 
The entire consciousness consisted of such inward repre- 
sentations of external objects, colors, or sounds. At last, 
in the latter part of the Atlantean Epoch, this picture- 
consciousness gave way to the present full waking-con- 
sciousness, in which objects could be observed outside, 
clearly and distinctly outlined in space. When this objec- 
tive-consciousness was attained, man became aware of an 
outside world and for the first time thoroughly realized 
the difference between "self" and "others." He then real- 
ized his separateness and thenceforth the "I" consciousness. 
Egoism, became paramount. As previous to that time 
there had been no thoughts nor ideas dealing with an out- 
side world, there had consequently been no memory of 
events. 

The change from the internal picture consciousness to 
the objective-self-consciousness was effected by a very slow 
process, commensurate with its magnitude, lasting from 



416 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

the existence on Globe C in the third Eevolution of the 
Moon Period, until the latter part of the Atlantean Epoch. 

During that time the evolving life passed through four 
great stages of animal-ZiA;e development before reaching the 
human stage. These steps of the past correspond to four 
stages yet to be passed through, and to the four initiations. 

Within these four stages of consciousness previously 
passed there are altogether thirteen steps, and from man's 
present state to the last of the Great Initiations there are 
also thirteen initiations — the nine degrees of the lesser 
mysteries and the four Great Initiations. 

There is a similar division among our present animals 
which can be traced through Form, because, as the form 
is the expression of the life, so each step in its development 
i^ust necessarily show a step forward in consciousness. 

Cuvier was the first to divide the animal kingdom into 
four primary classes, but was not so successful in his divi- 
sion of these classes into sub-classes. The embryologist, 
Karl Ernst von Baer, also Professor Agassiz and other 
scientists^ classify the animal kingdom into four primary 
and thirteen subdivisions, as follows: 

i EADIATES : 

1 — Polyps, Sea-anemones and Coral. 
2 — Acalephs, or Jelly-fish. 
3 — Starfish, Sea-urchins. 

II MOLLUSKS: 

4 — Acephala (oysters, etc.), 
5 — Gasteropoda (snails). 
6 — Cephalopoda. 

III ARTICULATES : 

7 — Worms. 

8 — Crustacea (lobsters, etc.). 

9 — Insects. 

IV VERTEBRATES: 

10— Fishes. 
11 — Reptiles. 
12— Birds. 
13 — Mammals. 



FUTUEE DEVELOPMENT 417 

The first three divisions correspond to the remaining 
three Eevolntions of the Mercury half of the Earth Period, 
and their nine steps correspond to the nine degrees of the 
lesser mysteries, which will have been taken by humanity 
in general when" it has reached the middle of the last 
Eevolution of the Earth Period. 

The fourth division in the list of the advancing animal 
kingdom has four subdivisions: Fishes, Eeptiles, Birds, 
and Mammals. The steps in consciousness thus indicated 
correspond to similar states of advancement to be attained 
by humanity at the end of the Earth, Jupiter, Venus, and 
Vulcan Periods and which any qualified individual may 
now attain by initiation. The first of the Great Initiations 
gives the stage of consciousness which will be attained by 
ordinary humanity at the end of the Earth Period; the 
second that to which all will attain at the end of the 
Jupiter Period ; the third gives the extension of conscious- 
ness to be reached at the close of the Venus Period; the 
last brings to the initiate the power and omniscience to 
which the majority will attain only at the end of the Vul- 
can Period. 

The Objective-Consciousness by which we obtain knowl- 
edge of the outside world is dependent upon what we 
perceive through the medium of the senses. This we call 
"real,^' in contradistinction to our thoughts and ideas 
which come to us through our inner consciousness; their 
reality is not apparent to us in the same way as that of 
a book or table, or other visible or tangible object in space. 
Thoughts and ideas seem misty and unreal, therefore we 
speak of a "mere" thought, or of "just" an idea. 

The ideas and thoughts of today, however, have an evo- 
lution before them; they are destined to become as real, 
clear and tangible as any of the objects of the outside 



418 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

world which we now perceive through the physical senses. 
At present, when a thing or a color is thought of, the pic- 
ture or color presented by the memory to our inner con- 
sciousness is but a dim and shadowy one compared with 
the thing thought of. 

As early as the Jupiter Period there will be a marked 
change in this respect. Then the dream-pictures of the 
Moon Period will return, but they will be subject to the 
call of the thinker, and not mere reproductions of outer 
objects. Thus there will be a combination of the pictures 
of the Moon Period and the thoughts and ideas consciously 
developed during the Earth Period, that is, it will be a 
Self-Conscious Picture-Consciousness. 

When a man of the Jupiter Period says "red,'^ or speaks 
the name of an object, a clear and exact reproduction of 
t£e particular shade of red of which he is thinking, or of 
the object to which he refers, will be presented to his inner 
vision and will also be quite visible to the hearer. There 
will be no misconception as to what is meant by the words 
spoken. Thoughts and ideas will be alive and visible, 
therefore hypocrisy and flattery will be entirely eliminated. 
People can be seen exactly as they are. There will be 
both good and bad, but the two qualities will not be min- 
gled in the same person. There will be the thoroughly 
good man and the downright evil man, and one of the 
serious problems of that time will be how to deal with 
the latter. The Manichees, an Order of still higher spiritu- 
ality than the Eosicrucians, are at present studying that 
very problem. An idea of the condition anticipated may 
be gained from a short resume of their legend. (All 
mystic orders have a legend symbolical of their ideals and 
aspirations.) 

In the legend of the Manichees there are two kingdoms 



FUTUKE DEVELOPMENT 419 

— that of the Light-Elves and that of the Night-Elves. 
The latter attack the former, are defeated and must be 
punished. But, as the Light-Elves are as thoroughly good 
as the Night-Elves are bad, they cannot inflict evil upon 
their foes, so they must he punished with Good. There- 
fore a part of the kingdom of the Light-Elves is incor- 
porated with that of the Night-Elves and in this way the 
evil is in time overcome. Hate which will not submit to 
hate, must succumb to Love. 

The internal pictures of the Moon Period were a cer- 
tain expression of man's external environment. In the 
Jupiter Period the pictures will be expressed from within ; 
they will be an outcome of the inner life of the man. He 
will also possess the additional faculty, which he cultivated 
in the Earth Period, of seeing things in space outside of 
himself. In the Moon Period he did not see the concrete 
thing, but only its soul-qualities. In the Jupiter Period 
he will see both, and will thus have a thorough perception 
and understanding of his surroundings. At a later stage 
in the same Period, this perceptive ability will be suc- 
ceeded by a still higher phase. His power to form clear 
mental conceptions of colors, objects, or tones will enable 
him to contact and influence supersensuous beings of vari- 
ous orders and to secure their obedience, employing their 
forces as he wishes. He will be unable to send out from 
himself the forces wherewith to carry out his designs, how- 
ever, and will be dependent upon the help of these super- 
physical beings, who will then be at his service. 

At the close of the Venus Period he will be able to use 
his own force to give his pictures life and to set them out 
from himself as objects in space. He will then possess an 
Objective, 8 elf -Conscious, Creative-Consciousness. 

Very little can be said about the high spiritual con- 



420 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

sciousness which will be attained at the close of the Vulcan 
Period; it would be quite beyond our present comprehen- 
sion. 

Spirals within Spirals. 

It must not be supposed that these states of conscious- 
ness commence at the beginning of the Periods to which 
they belong and last until the end. There is always the 
Recapitulation, and therefore there must be the corre- 
sponding stages of consciousness on an ascending scale. 
The Saturn Eevolution of any Period, the stay on Globe 
A, and the first Epoch on any Globe, are repetitions of 
the Saturn Period states of development. The Sun Revo- 
lution, the stay on Globe B, and the second Epoch on any 
Globe are Recapitulations of the Sun Period states of de- 
velopment, and so on, all the way through. Hence it will 
be seen that the consciousness which is to be the especial 
and peculiar result or product of any Period, does not 
begin to be evolved until all the Recapitulations have been 
made. The waking-consciousness of the Earth Period was 
not started until the Fourth Revolution, when the life 
wave had reached the Fourth Globe (D), and was in the 
Fourth or Atlantean Epoch on that Globe. 

The Jupiter consciousness will not start in the Jupiter 
Period until the Fifth Revolution, when the Fifth Globe 
(E) has been reached and the Fifth Epoch commences 
on that Globe. 

Correspondingly, the Venus consciousness will not begin 
until the Sixth Revolution has come to the Sixth Globe 
and Epoch, and the special Vulcan work will be confined 
to the very last Globe and Epoch, just before the Day of 
Manifestation closes. 

The time required for passing through these respective 



FUTUEE DEVELOPMENT 421 

Periods varies greatly. The further into matter the virgin 
spirits descend, the slower their progress and the more 
numerous the steps or stages of progression. After the 
nadir of material existence has been passed and the life 
wave ascends into more tenous and mobile conditions, the 
progress is gradually accelerated. The Sun Period is of 
somewhat longer duration than the Saturn Period, and the 
Moon Period is longer than the Sun Period. The Mars 
(or first) half of the Earth Period is the longest half of 
any Period. Then the time begins to shorten again, so 
that the Mercury half of the Earth Period, the latter 
three and a half Revolutions, will occupy less time than 
the Mars half; the Jupiter Period will be shorter than the 
Moon Period; the Venus Period shorter than the corre- 
sponding Sun Period; and the Vulcan Period the shortest 
Period of them all. 

The states of consciousness of the different Periods may 
be tabulated as follows: 

Period Corresponding consciousness 

Saturn Unconsciousness corresponding to deep trance 

Sun Unconsciousness resembling dreamless sleep 

Moon Picture consciousness corresponding to dream state 

Earth Waking, objective consciousness 

Jupiter Self-conscious picture consciousness 

Venus Objective, Self-conscious, Creative consciousness 

Vulcan Highest Spiritual Consciousness 

Having taken a general survey of the states of conscious- 
ness to be developed in the next three and a half Periods, 
we will now study the means of attainment. 

Alchemy and Soul-Growth. 

The dense body was started in the Saturn Period, passed 
through various transformations in the Sun and Moon 



422 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Periods, and will reach its highest development in the 
Earth Period. 

The vital body was started in the second Revolution of 
the Sun Period, was reconstructed in the Moon and Earth 
Periods, and will reach perfection in the Jupiter. Period, 
which is its fourth stage, as the Earth Period is the fourth 
stage for the dense body. 

The desire body was started in the Moon period, recon- 
structed in the Earth period, will be further modified in 
the Jupiter Period, reaching perfection in the Venus 
Period. 

The mind was started in the Earth Period, will be modi- 
fied in the Jupiter and Venus Periods, and attain to per- 
fection in the Vulcan Period. 

ileference to diagram 8 will show that the lowest Globe 
of the Jupiter Period is located in the Etheric Region. It 
would therefore be impossible to use the dense physical 
vehicle there, as only a vital body can be used in the 
Etheric Region. Yet it must not be supposed that after 
spending the time from the beginning of the Saturn 
Period to the end of the Earth Period in completing and 
perfecting this body, it is then thrown away that man 
may function in a ^^higher" vehicle ! 

Nothing in Nature is wasted. In the Jupiter Period 
the forces of the dense body will be superimposed upon 
the completed vital body. That vehicle will then possess 
the powers of the dense body in addition to its own facul- 
ties, and will therefore be a much more valuable instru- 
ment for the expression of the threefold spirit than if 
built from its own forces alone. 

Similarly, Globe D of the Venus Period is located in 
the Desire World (see diagram 8), hence neither a dense 
nor a vital body could be used as an instrument of con- 



PUTURE DEVELOPMENT 423 

sciousness, therefore the essences of the perfected dense 
and vital bodies are incorporated in the completed desire 
body, the latter thus becoming a vehicle of transcendent 
qualities, marvelously adaptable and so responsive to the 
slightest wish of the indwelling spirit that in our present 
limitations, it is beyond our utmost conception. 

Yet the efficiency of even this splendid vehicle will be 
transcended when in the Vulcan period its essence, to- 
gether with the essences of tlie dense and vital bodies, are 
added to the mind body, which becomes the highest of 
man's vehicles, containing within itself the quintessence 
of all that was best in all the vehicles. The vehicle of the 
Venus Period being beyond our present power of concep- 
tion, how much more so is that which will be at the service 
of the divine beings of the Vulcan Period ! 

During involution the creative Hierarchies assisted man 
to arouse into activity the threefold spirit, the Ego, to 
build the threefold body, and to acquire the link of mind. 
Now, however, on the seventh day (to use the language 
of the Bible), God rests. Man must work out his own 
salvation. The threefold spirit must complete the working 
out of the plan begun by the Gods. 

The human spirit, which was awakened during Involu- 
tion in the Moon Period, will be the most prominent of 
the three aspects of the spirit in the evolution of the 
Jupiter Period, which is the corresponding Period on the 
upward arc of the spiral. The life spirit, which was 
started into activity in the Sun Period, will manifest its 
principal activity in the corresponding Venus Period, and 
the particular influences of the Divine Spirit will be strong- 
est in the Vulcan Period, because it was vivified in the 
corresponding Saturn Period. 

All three aspects of the spirit are active all the time 



424 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

during evolution, but the principal activity of each aspect 
will be unfolded in those particular Periods, because the 
work to be done there is its special work. 

When the threefold spirit had evolved the threefold body 
and gained control of it through the focus of Mind, it 
commenced to evolve the threefold soul by working from 
within. How much or how little soul a man has depends 
upon the amount of work the spirit has done in the bodies. 
This has been explained in the chapter describing post 
7nortem experiences. 

As much of the desire body as has been worked upon 
by the Ego is transmuted into the emotional soul, and is 
ultimately assimilated by the human spirit, the special 
vehicle of which is the desire body. 

4s much of the vital body as has been worked upon by 
the life spirit, becomes the Intellectual soul, and it builds 
the life spirit, because that aspect of the threefold spirit 
has its counterpart in the vital body. 

As much of the dense body as has been worked upon 
by the Divine Spirit is called the Conscious soul, and is 
ultimately merged in the Divine Spirit, because the dense 
body is its material emanation. 

The Conscious soul grows hy action, external impacts, 
and experience. 

The Emotional soul grows by the feelings and emotions 
generated by actions and experiences. 

The Intellectual soul, as mediator between the other 
two, grows by the exercise of memory, by which it links 
together past and present experiences and the feelings 
engendered thereby, thus creating "sympathy" and "an- 
tipathy,'' which could not exist apart from memory, be- 
cause the feelings resulting from experience alone would be 
evanescent. 



FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 425 

During involution the spirit progressed by growing 
bodies, but evolution depends upon soul growth — the trans- 
mutation of the bodies into soul. The soul is, so to say, 
the quintessence, the power or force of the body, and when 
a body has been completely built and brought to perfec- 
tion through the stages and Periods as above described, 
the soul is fully extracted therefrom and is absorbed by 
the one of the three aspects of the spirit which generated 
the body in the first place; thus: 

The Conscious soul will be absorbed by the divine spirit 
in the seventh Revolution of the Jupiter Period; 

The Intellectual soul will be absorbed by the life spirit 
in the sixth Eevolution of the Venus Period ; 

The Emotional soid will be absorbed by the human spirit 
in the fifth Eevolution of the Vulcan Period. 

The Creative Word. 

The mind is the most important instrument possessed 
by the spirit, and its special instrument in the work of 
creation. The spiritualized and perfected larynx will speak 
the creative Word, but the perfected mind will decide as 
to the particular form and the volume of vibration, and 
will thus be the determining factor. Imagination will be 
the spiritualized faculty directing the work of creation. 

There is a strong tendency at the present time to regard 
the faculty of imagination slightingly, yet it is one of the 
most important factors in our civilization. If it were not 
for the imagination, we would still be naked savages. 
Imagination planned our houses, our clothes and our trans- 
portation and transmission facilities. Had not the in- 
ventors of these improvements possessed the mind and 
imagination to form mental images, the improvements 
could never have become concrete realities. In our mate- 



426 EOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

rialistic day and age there is scarcely an efiort made to 
conceal the contempt in which the faculty of imagination 
is generally held, and none feel the effects of this more 
acutely than inventors. They are usually classed as 
"cranks/^ and yet they have been the chief factors in the 
subjugation of the Physical World and in making our 
social environment what it is today. Any improvement in 
spiritual or physical conditions must first be imagined as 
a possibility before it can become an actuality. 

If the student will turn to diagram 1 this fact will be- 
come clear. In the comparison there drawn between the 
functions of the different human vehicles and the parts of 
a stereopticon, the mind corresponds to the lens. It is the 
focusing medium whereby the ideas wrought by the imagi- 
• nation of the spirit are projected upon the material uni- 
verse. First they are thought-forms only, but when the 
desire to realize the imagined possibilities has set the man 
to work in the Physical World, they become what we call 
concrete "realities." 

At the present time, however, the mind is not focused 
in a way that enables it to give a clear and true picture of 
what the spirit imagines. It is not one-pointed. It gives 
misty and clouded pictures. Hence the necessity of experi- 
ment to show the inadequacies of the first conception, and 
bring about new imaginings and ideas until the image 
produced by the spirit in mental substance has been repro- 
duced in physical substance. 

At the best, we are able to shape through the mind only 
such images as have to do with Form, because the human 
mind was not started until the Earth Period, and there- 
fore is now in its form, or "mineral" stage, hence in our 
operations we are confined to forms, to minerals. We can 
imagine ways and means of working with the mineral 



FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 427 

forms of the three lower kingdoms, but can do little or 
nothing with living bodies. We may indeed graft living 
branch to living tree, or living part of animal or man to 
other living part, but it is not life with which we are 
working; it is form only. We are making different condi- 
tions, but the life which already inhabited the form con- 
tinues to do so still. To create life is beyond man's power 
until his mind has become alive. 

In the Jupiter Period the mind will be vivified to some 
extent and man can then imagine forms which will live 
and grow, like plants. 

In the Venus Period^ when his mind has acquired "Feel- 
ing," he can create living, growing, and feeling things. 

When he reaches perfection, at the end of the Vulcan 
Period, he will be able to "imagine" into existence crea- 
tures that will live, grow, feel, and think. 

In the Saturn Period the life wave which is now man 
started on its evolution. The Lords of Mind were then 
human. They worked with man at that Period, when he 
was mineral. They now have nothing to do with the lower 
kingdoms, but are concerned solely with our human 
development. 

Our present animals started their mineral existence in 
the Sun Period, at which time the Archangels were human, 
therefore the Archangels are the rulers and guides of the 
evolution of that which is now animal, but have nothing to 
do with plant or mineral. 

The present plants had their mineral existence in the 
Moon Period. The Angels were then human, therefore 
they have special concern with the life that now inhabits 
the plants, to guide it up to the human stage; but they 
have no interest in the minerals. 

Our present humanity will have to work with the new 



428 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

life wave^ which entered evolution in the Earth Period and 
now ensouls the minerals. We are now working with it 
by means of the faculty of imagination, giving it form- — 
building it into ships, bridges, railways, houses, etc. 

In the Jupiter Period we shall guide the evolution of the 
plant kingdom, for that which is at present mineral will 
then have a plant-like existence and we must work with it 
there as the Angels are now doing with our plant kingdom. 
Our faculty of imagination will be so developed that 
we shall have the ability, not only to create forms by means 
of it, but to endow those forms with vitality. 

In the Venus Period our present mineral life wave 
shall have advanced another step, and we shall be doing for 
the animals of that period what the Archangels are now 
doing for our animals — giving them living and feeling 
forms. 

Lastly, in the Vulcan Period it will be our privilege 
to give them a germinal mind, as the Lords of Mind did 
to us. The present minerals will then have become the 
humanity of the Vulcan Period, and we shall have passed 
through stages similar to those through which the Angels 
and Archangels are now passing. We shall then have 
reached a point in evolution a little higher than that of the 
present Lords of Mind, for remember, there is never an 
exact reproduction anywhere, but always progressive im- 
provement, because of the spiral. 

The Divine Spirit will absorb the human spirit at the 
close of the Jupiter Period; the life spirit at the close of 
the Venus Period; and the perfected Mind, embodying 
all that it has garnered during its pilgrimage through all 
the seven Periods, will be absorbed by the Divine Spirit at 
the close of the Vulcan Period. (There is no contradic- 
tion of the foregoing in the statement made elsewhere that 



FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 429 

the Emotional soul will be absorbed by the human spirit in 
the fifth Eevolution of the Vulcan Period, because the 
latter will then be within the Divine Spirit.) 

Then will succeed the long interval of subjective activity, 
during which the virgin spirit will assimilate all the fruits 
of the septenary Periods of active Manifestation. It is 
then merged in God, from Whom it came, to re-emerge 
at the dawn of another Great Day, as One of His glorious 
helpers. During its past evolution its latent possibilities 
have been transmuted to dynamic powers. It has acquired 
Soul-power and a Creative Mind as the fruitage of its 
pilgrimage through matter. It has advanced from impo- 
ience to Omnipotence, from nescience to Omniscience. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

The Method of Acquiring First-Hand Knowledge. 

The First Steps. 

THE time has now come for pointing out the way hy 
which each individual may investigate for himself 
all the facts with which we have dealt thus far in 
our study. As stated in the beginning, there are no special 
"gifts" bestowed upon any. All may know for themselves 
the truth concerning the pilgrimage of the soul, the past 
evolution and future destiny of the world, without being 
compelled to depend upon the veracity of another. There 
is a method whereby this valuable faculty may be acquired, 
and the earnest student qualify himself to investigate those 
super-physical realms; a method by which, if persistently 
followed, the powers of a God may be developed. 

A simple illustration may indicate the first steps. The 
very best mechanic is well-nigh helpless without the tools 
of his craft. Indeed it is the hall-mark of a good artisan 
that he is very fastidious as to the quality and condition 
of the tools he uses, because he knows that the work de- 
pends as much upon their excellence as upon his skill. 

The Ego has several instruments — a dense body, a vital 
body, a desire body, and a mind. These are its tools and 
upon their quality and condition depends how much or how 
little it can accomplish in its work of gathering experience 
in each life. If the instruments are poor and dull there 

430 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 43 1 

will be but little spiritual growth and the life will be a 
barren one, so far as the spirit is concerned. 

We generally estimate a "successful" life by the bank 
account, the social position attained, or the happi- 
ness resulting from a carefree existence and a sheltered 
environment. 

When life is regarded in that way all the principal 
things that make for permanency are forgotten; the indi- 
vidual is blinded by the evanescent and illusionary. A 
bank account seems such a very real success, the fact is 
forgotten that from the moment the Ego leaves the body, it 
has no equity in gold nor any other earthly treasure. It 
may even have to answer for the methods employed in 
amassing that hoard, and suffer great pain in seeing others 
spend it. It is forgotten that the important social posi- 
tion also disappears when the silver cord is loosed. Those 
who once fawned may then sneer, and even those who were 
faithful in life might shudder at the thought of an hour 
spent with no company but that of the dead. All that is 
of this life alone is vanity. Only that is of true value 
which can be taken with us across the threshold as the 
treasure of the spirit. 

The hot-house plant may look very beautiful as it blooms 
in its sheltered glass house, but should the furnace fire 
go out, it would wither and die, while the plant that has 
grown in rain and sunshine, through storm and calm, will 
survive the winter and bloom afresh each year. From the 
viewpoint of the soul, happiness and a sheltered environ- 
ment are generally unfortunate circumstances. The petted 
and fondled lap-dog is subject to diseases of which the 
homeless cur, which has to fight for a scrap from a gar- 
bage can, knows nothing. The cur's life is hard, but it 
gets experience that makes it alert, alive and resourceful. 



432 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Its life is rich in events, and it reaps a harvest of experi- 
ence, while the pampered lap-dog drones its time away in 
fearful monotony. 

The case of a human being is somewhat similar. It 
may be hard to fight poverty and hunger, but from the 
standpoint of the soul it is infinitely preferable to a life of 
idle luxury. Where wealth is nothing more than the hand- 
maid of well thought out philanthropy, which helps man in 
such a way as to really uplift him, it may be a very great 
blessing and a means of growth for its possessor, but when 
used for selfish purposes and oppression, it cannot be 
regarded as other than an unmitigated curse. 

The soul is here to acquire experience through its instru- 
ments. These are the tools furnished to each at birth, and 
they are good, bad or indifferent according to what we 
iiave learned through past experience in the building of 
them. Such as they are we must work with them, if at all. 

If we have become aroused from the usual lethargy and 
are anxious to progress, the question naturally arises, What 
must I do? 

Without well-kept tools the mechanic can do no effective 
work; similarly, the instruments of the Ego must be 
cleansed and sharpened; then we may commence to work 
to some purpose. As one works with those wonderful tools 
they themselves improve with proper use and become more 
and more efficient to aid in the work. The object of this 
work is Union with the Higher Self. 

There are three steps by which this work conquers the 
lower nature, but they are not completely taken one after 
the other. In a certain sense they go together, so that at 
the present stage the first receives the most attenion, the 
second less, and the third least of all. In time, when the 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 433 

first step has been wholly taken, naturally more attention 
can be paid to the other two. 

There are three helps given in attaining these three 
stages. They can be seen in the outside world, where the 
great Leaders of humanity have placed them. 

The first help is Eace-religions, which by aiding human- 
ity to overcome the desire body, prepare it for union with 
the Holy Spirit. 

The full operation of this help was seen on the Day of 
Pentecost. As the Holy Spirit is the Race-God, all lan- 
guages are expressions of it. That is why the apostles, 
when fully united and filled with the Holy Spirit, spoke 
with different tongues and were able to convince their 
hearers. Their desire bodies had been sufficiently purified 
to bring about the wished-for union and this is an earnest 
of what the disciple will one day attain to — the power to 
speak all tongues. It may also be cited as a modern, 
historical example, that the Compte de St. Germain (who 
was one of the later incarnations of Christian Rosenkreutz, 
the founder of our sacred Order), spoke all languages, so 
that all to whom he spoke thought he belonged to the 
same nation as they. He also had achieved union with the 
Holy Spirit. 

In the Hyperborean Epoch, before man possessed a 
desire body, there was but one universal mode of communi- 
cation and when the desire body has become sufficiently 
purified, all men will again be able to understand one 
another, for then the separative Race differentiation shall 
have passed away. 

The second help which humanity now has is the Religion 
of the Son — the Christian religion, the object of which is 
Union with Christ by purification and control of the vital 
body. 



434 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Paul refers to this future state when he says: "Until 
Christ be formed in you/' and exhorts his followers, as men 
who are running a race, to rid themselves of every weight. 

The fundamental principle in building the vital body is 
repetition. Eepeated experiences work on it to create 
memory. The Leaders of humanity, who desired to give 
us unconscious help by certain exercises, instituted prayer 
as a means of bringing pure and lofty thought to work on 
the vital body, and enjoined us to "pray without ceasing." 
Scoffers have often asked sneeringly why it should be 
thought necessary to always pray, because if God is omnis- 
cient He knows our needs and if He is not, our prayers 
will probably never reach Him; and if not omniscient. 
He cannot be omnipotent, and therefore could not answer 
prayer in any case. Many an earnest Christian may also 
Mhve thought it wrong to be continually importuning the 
Throne of Grace. 

Such ideas are founded upon a misunderstanding of 
facts. Truly God is omniscient and requires no reminder 
of our needs, but if we pray aright, we lift ourselves up to 
Him, thus working upon and purifying our vital bodies. 
If we pray aright — but that is the great trouble. We are 
generally much more concerned about temporal things 
than we are about spiritual upliftment. Churches will 
hold special meetings to pray for rain ! and the chaplains 
of opposing armies or navies will even pray before a battle 
that success may follow their arms ! 

That is prayer to the Eace-God, Who fights the battles 
of His people, gives them increase of flocks and herds, 
fills their granaries and caters to their material wants. 
Such prayers are not even purifying. They are from the 
desire body, which sums up the situation thus : Now Lord, 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 435 

I am keeping your commandments to the best of my ability 
and I want You to do Your part in return. 

Christ gave to humanity a prayer that is, like Himself, 
unique and all-embracing. In it there are seven distinct 
and separate prayers; one for each of the seven principles 
of man — the threefold body, the threefold spirit and the 
link of mind. Each prayer is peculiarly adapted to pro- 
mote the progression of that p.. t of composite man to 
which it refers. 

The purpose of the prayer relating to the threefold body 
is the spiritualization of those vehicles and the extraction 
therefrom of the threefold soul. 

The prayers relating to the threefold spirit prepare it to 
receive the extracted essence, the threefold soul. 

The prayer for the link of mind is to keep it in its 
proper relation as a tie between the higher and the lower 
nature. 

The third help to be given to humanity will be the 
EeHgion of the Father. We can have very little concep- 
tion of what that will be, save that the ideal will be even 
higher than Brotherhood and that by it the dense body 
will be spiritualized. 

The Eeligions of the Holy Spirit, the Race-religions, 
were for the uplifting of the human race through a feeling 
of kinship limited to a group — family, tribe or nation. 

The purpose of the Eeligion of The Son, Christ, is to 
further uplift mankind by forming it into a Universal 
Brotherhood of separate individuals. 

The ideal of the Religion of The Father will be the 
elimination of all separateness, merging all into One, so 
that there will be no "I" nor "Thou," but all will be One 
in reality. This will not come to pass while we are still 
inhabitants of the physical Earth, but in a future state 



436 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

where we shall realize our unity with all, each having access 
to all the knowledge garnered by each separate individual. 
Just as the single facet of a diamond has access to all the 
light that comes through each of the other facets, is one 
with them, yet bounded by lines which 'give it a certain 
individuality without separateness, so will the individual 
spirit retain the memory of its particular experiences^ 
while giving to all others the fruits of its individual 
existence. 

"^ These are the steps and stages through \)rhich humanity 
is unconsciously being led. 

In past ages the Race-spirit reigned alone. Man was 
content with a patriarchal and paternal government in 
which he had no part. Now all over the world we see 
signs of the breaking down of the old system. The caste 
system, which was the stronghold of England in India, 
is crumbling. Instead of being separated into small 
groups, the people are uniting in the demand that the 
oppressor shall depart and leave them to live in freedom 
under a government of, by and for the people. Russia is 
torn by strife for freedom from a dictatorial, autocratic 
government. Turkey has awakened and taken a long 
stride toward liberty. Here in our own land, where we 
are supposed to be in the actual enjoyment of such liberty 
as others are, as yet, only able to covet or fight for, we are 
not yet satisfied. We are learning that there are other 
oppressions than those of an autocratic monarchy. We 
see that we have still industrial freedom to gain. We are 
chafing under the yoke of the trusts and an insane system 
of competition. We are trending toward co-operation, 
which is now practiced by the trusts within their own 
confines for private profit. We are desirous of a state of 



ACQUIRING FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE 437 

society where "they shall sit every man under his vine and 
under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid." 

Thus, all over the world, the old systems of paternal 
government are changing. Nations, as such, have had 
their day and are unwittingly working toward Universal 
Brotherhood in accordance with the design of our invisible 
Leaders, who are none the less potent in shaping events 
because they are not officially seated in the councils of 
nations. 

These are the slow means by which the different bodies 
of humanity at large are being purified, but the aspirant 
to the higher knowledge works consciously to attain to 
these ends, by well-defined methods, according to his con- 
stitution. 

Western Methods for Western People. 

In India, certain methods under different systems of 
Yoga, are used. Yoga means Union and, as in the West, 
the object of the aspirant is union with the Higher Self; 
but to be efficacious, the methods of seeking that union 
must differ. The vehicles of a Hindu are very differently 
constituted from those of a Caucasian. The Hindus have 
lived for many, many thousands of years in an environ- 
ment and climate totally different from ours. They have 
pursued a different method of thought and their civiliza- 
tion, though of a very high order, is different from ours 
in its effects. Therefore it would be useless for us to 
adopt their methods, which are the outcome of the highest 
occult knowledge and perfectly suited to them, but as un- 
suitable for the people of the West as a diet of oats would 
be for a lion. 

For instance, in some systems it is required that the 
yogi shall sit in certain positions, that particular cosmic 



438 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

currents may flow through his body in a certain way to 
produce certain definite results. That instruction would 
be altogether useless for a Caucasian, as he is absolutely 
impervious to those currents, because of his way of living. 
If he is to attain results at all, he must work in harmony 
with the constitution of his vehicles. That is why the 
"Mysteries'^ were established in different parts of Europe 
during the Middle Ages. The Alchemists were deep stu- 
dents of the higher occult science. The popular belief 
that the object of their study and experimenting was the 
transmutation of baser metals into gold, was because they 
chose that symbolic way of describing their true work, 
which was the transmutation of the lower nature into 
spirit. It was thus described to lull the suspicions of the 
priests, without stating a falsehood. The statement that 
*the Rosicrucians were a society devoted to the discovery 
and use of the formula for the making of the "Philosoph- 
er's Stone" was and is true. It is also true that most 
people have handled and do often handle this wondrous 
stone. It is common, but of no avail to an but the indi- 
vidual who makes it for himself. The formula ii given in 
the esoteric training and a Eosicrucian is no different in 
that respect from the occultist of any other school. All 
are engaged in the making of this coveted stone, each, 
however, using his own methods, as there are no two indi- 
viduals alike and consequently really effective work is 
always individual in its scope. 

All occult schools are divisible into seven, as are the 
"Rays" of Life^ the virgin spirits. Each School or Order 
belongs to one of these seven Rays, as does each unit of 
our humanity. Therefore any individual seeking to unite 
with one of these occult groups, the "Brothers" in which 
do not belong to his Ray, cannot do so with benefit to 



ACQUIRING FlEST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 439 

himself. The members of these groups are brothers in a 
more intimate sense than are the rest of humanity. 

Perhaps if these seven Kays are compared to the seven 
colors of the spectrum, their relation to one another can 
be better understood. For instance, if a red ray were to 
ally itself with a green ray, inharmony would result. The 
same principle applies to spirits. Each must proceed 
with the group to which it belongs during manifestation, 
yet they are all one. As all the colors are contained in 
the white light, but the refractive quality of our atmos- 
phere seems to divide it into seven colors, so the illusory 
conditions of concrete existence cause the virgin spirits 
to seem grouped and this apparent grouping will abide 
while we are in this state. 

The Eosicrucian Order was started particularly for those 
whose high degree of intellectual development caused them 
to repudiate the heart. Intellect imperiously demands a 
logical explanation of everything — the world mystery, the 
questions of life and death. The reasons for and the 
modus operandi of existence were not explained by the 
priestly injuction "not to seek to know the mysteries of 
God." 

To any man or woman who is blest, or otherwise, with 
such an inquiring mind it is of paramount importance 
that they shall receive all the information they crave, so 
that when the head is stilled, the heart may speak. Intel- 
lectual knowledge is but a means to an end, not the end 
itself. Therefore, the Eosicrucian purposes first of all to 
satisfy the aspirant for knowledge that everything in the 
universe is reasonable, thus winning over the rebellious 
intellect. When it has ceased to criticise and is ready to 
accept provisionally, as probably true, statements which 
cannot be immediately verified, then, and not until then. 



440 EOSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONGEPTION 

will esoteric training be effective in developing the higher 
faculties whereby man passes from faith to first-hand 
knowledge. Yet, even then it will be found that, as the 
pupil progresses in first-hand knowledge and becomes able 
to investigate for himself, there are always truths ahead 
of him that he knows to be truths, but which he is not yet 
advanced sufficiently to investigate. 

The pupil will do well to remember that nothing that is 
not logical can exist in the universe and that logic is the 
surest guide in all the Worlds, but he must not forget that 
his faculties are limited and that more than his own pow- 
ers of logical reasoning may be needed to solve a given 
problem, although it may, nevertheless, be susceptible of 
full explanation, but by lines of reasoning which are be- 
yond the capacity of the pupil at that stage of his de- 
velopment. Another point that must be borne in mind 
is that unwavering confidence in the teacher is absolutely 
necessary. 

The foregoing is recommended to the particular con- 
sideration of all who intend taking the first steps toward 
the higher knowledge. If the directions given are fol- 
lowed at all, they must be given full credence as an effi- 
cacious means to accomplish their purpose. To follow 
them in a half-hearted manner would be of no avail what- 
ever. Unbelief will kill the fairest flower ever produced 
by the spirit. 

Work on the different bodies of man is carried on syn- 
chronously. One body cannot be influenced without af- 
fecting the others, but the principal work may be done on 
any one of them. 

If strict attention is paid to hygiene and diet, the dense 
body is the one principally affected, but at the same time 
there is also an effect on the vital body and the desire 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 44I 

body for, as purer and better materials are built into the 
dense body, the particles are enveloped in purer planetary 
ether and desire-stuff also, therefore the planetary parts 
of the vital and desire bodies become purer. If attention 
is paid to food and hygiene only, the personal vital and 
desire bodies may remain almost as impure as before, but 
it has become just a little easier to get into touch with the 
good than if gross food were used. 

On the other hand if, despite annoyances, an equable 
temper is cultivated, also literary and artistic tastes, the 
vital body will produce an effect of daintiness and fas- 
tidiousness in physical matters and will also engender en- 
nobling feelings and emotions in the desire body. 

Seeking to cultivate the emotions also reacts upon the 
other vehicles and helps to improve them. 

The Science of Nutrition. 

If we begin with the dense vehicle and consider the 
physical means available to improve it and make it the 
best possible instrument for the spirit and afterward con- 
sider the spiritual means to the same end, we shall be in- 
cluding all the other vehicles as well; therefore we shall 
follow that method. 

The first visible state of a human embryo is a small, 
globulous, pulpy or jelly-like substance, similar to albu- 
men, or the white of an egg. In this pulpy globule various 
particles of more solid matter appear. These gradually 
increase in bulk and density until they come in contact 
with one another. The different points of contact are 
slowly modified into joints 'or hinges and thus a distinct 
framework of solid matter, a skeleton, is gradually formed. 

During the formation of this framework the surround- 
ing pulpy matter accumulates and changes in form until 



44^ ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

at length that degree of organization develops which is 
known as a foetus. This becomes larger, firmer, and more 
fully organized up to the time of birth, when the state of 
infancy begins. 

The same process of consolidation which commenced 
with the first visible stage of existence, still continues. 
The being passes through the different stages of infancy, 
childhood, youth, manhood or womanhood, old age, and 
at last comes to the chanije that is called death. 

Each of these stages is characterized by an increasing 
degree of hardness and solidity. 

There is a gradual increase in density and firmness of 
the bones, tendons, cartilages, ligaments, tissues, mem- 
branes, the coverings and even the very substance of the 
stomach, liver, lungs, and other organs. The joints be- 
• come rigid and dry. They begin to crack and grate when 
they are moved, because the synovial fluid, which oils and 
softens them, is diminished in quantity and rendered too 
thick and glutinous to serve that purpose. 

The heart, the brain, and the entire muscular system, 
spinal cord, nerves, eyes, etc., partake of the same con- 
solidating process, growing more and more rigid. Millions 
upon millions of the minute capillary vessels which ramify 
and spread like the branches of a tree throughout the en- 
tire body, gradually choke up and change into solid fibre, 
no longer pervious to the blood. 

The larger blood vessels, both arteries and veins, indu- 
rate, lose their elasticity, grow smaller, and become in- 
capable of carrying the required amount of blood. The 
fluids of the body thicken and become putrid, loaded with 
earthy matter. The skin withers and grows wrinkled and 
dry. The hair falls off for lack of oil. The teeth decay 
and drop out for lack of gelatine. The motor nerves begin 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 443 

to dry up and the movements of the body become awkward 
and slow. The senses fail; the circulation of the blood is 
retarded; it stagnates and congeals in the vessels. More 
and more the body loses its former powers. Once elastic, 
healthy, alert, pliable, active and sensitive, it becomes 
rigid, slow, and insensible. Finally, it dies of old age. 

The question now arises. What is the cause of this grad- 
ual ossification of the body, bringing rigidity, decrepitude, 
and death? 

From the purely physical standpoint, chemists seem to 
be unanimous in the opinion that it is principally an in- 
crease of phosphate of lime (bone matter), carbonate of 
lime (common chalk), and sulphate of lime (plaster of 
paris), with occasionally a little magnesia and an insigni- 
ficant amount of other earthy matters. 
' The only difference between the body of old age and 
that of childhood is the greater density, toughness and 
rigidity, caused by the greater proportion of calcareous, 
earthy matter entering into the composition of the for- 
mer. The bones of a child are composed of three parts of 
gelatine to one part of earthy matter. In old age this 
proportion is reversed. What is the source of this death- 
dealing accumulation of solid matter? 

It seems to be axiomatic that the entire body is nour- 
ished by the blood and that everything contained in the 
body, of whatever nature, has first been in the blood. 
Analysis shows that the blood holds earthy substances of 
the same kind as the solidifying agents — and mark ! — the 
a/rterial blood contains more earthy matter than the venous 
blood. 

This is highly important. It shows that in every cycle 
the blood deposits earthy substances. It is therefore the 
common carrier that chokes up the system. But its sup- 



444 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

ply of earthy matter must be replenished, otherwise it 
could not continue to do this. Where does it renew its 
deadly load? There can be but one answer to that ques- 
tion — from the food and drink; there is absolutely no 
other source. 

The food and drink which nourish the body must be, 
at the same time, the primary source of the calcareous, 
earthy matter which is deposited by the blood all over the 
system, causing decrepitude and finally death. To sus- 
tain physical life it is necessary that we eat and drink, 
but as there are many kinds of food and drink, it be- 
hooves us, in the light of the above facts, to ascertain, if 
possible, what kinds contain the smallest proportion of 
destructive matter. If we can find such food we can 
lengthen our lives and, from an occult standpoint, it is 
desirable to live as long as possible in each dense body, 
particularly after a start has been made toward the path. 
So many years are required to educate, through childhood 
and hot youth, each body inhabited, until the spirit can 
at last obtain some control over it, that the longer we can 
retain a body that has become amenable to the spirit's 
promptings, the better. Therefore it is highly important 
that the pupil partake of such food and drink only as will 
deposit the least amount of hardening matter and at the 
same time keep the excretory organs active. 

The skin and the urinary system are the saviors of man 
from an early grave. Were it not that by their means, 
most of the earthy matter taken with our food is elimi- 
nated, no one would live ten years. 

It has been estimated that ordinary, undistilled spring 
water contains carbonate and other compounds of lime to 
such an extent that the average quantity used each day by 
one person in the form of tea, coffee, soup, etc., would in 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 445 

forty years be sufficient to form a block of solid chalk oe 
marble the size of a large man. It is also a significant 
fact that although phosphate of lime is always found in 
the urine of adults, it is not found in the urine of chil- 
dren, because in them the rapid formation of bone re- 
quires that this salt be retained. During the period of 
gestation there is very little earthy matter in the urine of 
the mother, as it is used in the building of the foetus. In 
ordinary circumstances, however, earthy matter is very 
much in evidence in the urine of adults and to this we 
owe the fact that physical life reaches even its present 
length. 

Undistilled water, when taken internal^, is man's worst 
enemy, but used externally, it becomes his best friend. It 
keeps the pores of the skin open, induces circulation of 
the blood and prevents the stagnation which affords the 
best opportunity for the depositing of the earthy, death- 
dealing phosphate of lime. 

Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood, 
said that health denotes a free circulation and disease is 
the result of an obstructed circulation of the blood. 

The bathtub is a great aid in keeping up the health of 
the body and should be freely used by the aspirant to the 
higher life. Perspiration, sensible and insensible, carries 
more earthy matter out of the body than any other agency. 

As long as fuel is supplied and the fire kept free from 
ashes, it will burn. The kidneys are important in carry- 
ing away the ashes from the body, but despite the great 
amount of earthy matter carried away by the urine, enough 
remains in many cases to form gravel and stone in the 
bladder, causing untold agony and often death. 

Let no one be deceived into thinking that water con- 
tains less stone because it has been boiled. The stone that 



446 BOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

forms on the bottom of the teakettle has been left there 
by the evaporated water which escaped from the kettle as 
steam. If the steam were condensed, we should have dis- 
tilled water^ which is an important adjunct in keeping 
,the body young. 

There is absolutely no earthy matter in distilled water, 
nor in rain water, snow nor hail (except what may be 
gathered by contact with house-tops, etc.), but coffee, tea, 
or soup made with ordinary water, no matter how long 
boiled, is not purified of the earthy particles; on the con- 
trary, the longer they are boiled, the more heavily charged 
with it they become. Those suffering from urinary dis- 
eases should never drink any but distilled water. 

It may be said generally of the solid foods we take into 
our system, that fresh vegetables and ripe fruits contain 
the greatest proportion of nutritious matter and the least 
of earthy substances. 

As we are writing for the aspirant to the higher life 
and not for the general public, it may also be said that 
animal food should be entirely avoided, if possible. No 
one who kills can go very far along the path of holiness. 
We do even worse than if we actually killed, for in order 
to shield ourselves from the personal commission of the 
act of killing, and still reap its results, we force a fellow 
being, through economic necessity, to devote his entire 
time to murder, thereby brutalizing him to such an extent 
that the law will not allow him to act as a juror in cases 
of capital crime, because his business has so familiarized 
him with the taking of life. 

The enlightened know the animals to be their younger 
brothers and that they will be human in the Jupiter 
Period. We shall then help them as the Angels, who were 
human in the Moon Period, are now helping us, and for an 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 447 

aspirant to high ideals to kill — either in person or by 
proxy — is out of the question. 

Several very important food products from animals, 
such as milk, cheese and butter, may be used. These are 
the results of the processes of life and require no tragedies 
to convert them into food. Milk, which is an important 
food for the occult student, contains no earthy matter of 
any consequence and has an influence upon the body pos- 
sessed by no other food. 

During the Moon Period man was fed upon the milk 
of Nature. Universal food was absorbed by him and the 
use of milk has a tendency to put him in touch with the 
Cosmic forces and enable him to heal others. 

It is popularly supposed that sugar or any saccharine 
substance is injurious to the general health, and particu- 
larly to the teeth, causing their decay and the resulting 
toothache. Only under certain circumstances is this true. 
It is harmful in certain diseases, such as biliousness and 
dyspepsia, or if held long in the mouth as candy, but if 
sparingly used during good health and the amount grad- 
ually increased as the stomach becomes accustomed to its 
use, it will be found very nourishing. The health of 
negroes becomes greatly improved during the sugar-cane 
harvest time, nothwithstanding their increased labor. This 
is attributed solely to their fondness for the sweet cane- 
juice. The same may be said of horses, cows, and other 
animals in those localities, which are all fond of the refuse 
syrup fed to them. They grow fat in harvest time, their 
coats becoming sleek and shining. Horses fed on boiled 
carrots for a few weeks will get a coat like silk, owing to 
the saccharine juices of that vegetable. Sugar is a nutri- 
tious and beneficial article of diet and contains no ash 
whatever. 



448 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Fruits are an ideal diet. They are in fact evolved by 
the trees to induce animal and man to eat them, so that 
the seed may be disseminated, as flowers entice bees for a 
similar purpose. 

Fresh fruit contains water of the purest and best kind, 
capable of permeating the system in a marvelous manner. 
Grape juice is a particularly wonderful solvent. It thins 
and stimulates the blood, opening the way into capillaries 
already dried and choked up — if the process has not gone 
too far. By a course of unfermented grape-juice treat- 
ment, people with sunken eyes, wrinkled skins and poor 
complexions become plump, ruddy and lively. The in- 
creased permeability enables the spirit to manifest more 
freely and with renewed energy. The following table, 
which with the exception of the last column, is taken 
*from the publications of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, will give the aspirant some idea of the amount 
it is necessary to eat for different degrees of activity, also 
the constituents of the various foods named. 

Considering the body from a purely physical standpoint, 
it is what we might call a chemical furnace, the food being 
the fuel. The more the body is exercised, the more fuel 
it requires. It would be foolish for a man to change an 
ordinary diet which for years had adequately nourished 
him, and take up a new method without due thought as to 
which would be the best for serving his purpose. To sim- 
ply eliminate meats from the ordinary diet of meat-eaters 
would unquestionably undermine the health of most per- 
sons. The only safe way is to experiment and study the 
matter out first, using due discrimination. No fixed rules 
can be given, the matter of diet being as individual as any 
other characteristic. All that can be done is to give the 
table of food values and describe the general influence of 



ACQUIRING FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE 449 

each chemical element, allowing the aspirant to work out 
his own method. 

Neither must we allow the appearance of a person to 
influence our judgment as to the condition of his health. 
Certain general ideas of how a healthy person should look 
are commonly accepted, but there is no valid reason for so 
judging. Ruddy cheeks might be an indication of health 
in one individual and of disease in another. There is no 
particular rule by which good health can be known except 
the feeling of comfort and well-being which is enjoyed by 
the individual himself, irrespective of appearances. 

The table of Toods here given deals with five chemical 
compounds. 

Water is the great solvent. 

Nitrogen or proteid is the essential builder of flesh, but 
contains some earthy matter. 

Carbo-hydrates or sugars are the principal power-pro- 
ducers. 

Fats are the producers of heat and the storers of reserve 
force. 

Ash is mineral, earthy, and chokes the system. We need 
have no fear of obtaining it in sufficient quantities to build 
the bones ; on the contrary, we cannot be too careful to get 
as little as possible. 

The caloric is the simple unit of heat, and the table 
shows the number contained in each article of food when 
bought- -at the market. In a pound of Brazil nuts, for in- 
stance, 49.6% ot1;h« whole is waste (shells), but the re- 
maining 50.4% contains 1485 calorics. That means that 
about one-half of what is bought is waste, but the re- 
mainder contains the number of calorics named. That 
we may get the greatest amount of strength from our food 
we must pay attention to the number of calorics it con- 



450 



ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 



tains, for from them we obtain the energy required to per- 
form our daily work. The number of calorics necessary 
to sustain the body under varying conditions is shown in 
tlie following table : 

Man at very hard muscular work 5500 Calorics 

Man at moderately hard muscular work 4150 *' 

Man at moderately active muscular work 3400 '* 

Man at moderately light work 4050 * ' 

Man at sedentary work 2700 * * 

Man without muscular exercise 2450 * * 

Woman at light to modern muscular work 2450 *' 

TABLE OP FOOD VALUES. 



P5 



c8^ 



PL, 



O 



<5 









FKUITS. 

Apples, dried 

Apples, fresh 

Apricots, dried 

Bauauas 

Cucumbers 

Dates, dried 

Figs, dried 

Grapes 

Lemons 

Musicmelons 

Oranges . . . . 

Pears 

Persimmons (ediblepart) 

Raisins, dried . . . 

Raspberries 

Squash 

Strawberries 

Tomatoes, canned 

Tomatoes, fresh 

Watermelons 

NUTS. 

Almonds 

Brazil nuts 

Butternuts 

Chestnuts, dried 

Chestnuts, fresh 

Filberts 

Hickory nuts 

Pecans 

Walnuts, Black 

Walnuts, English 

GRAINS. 

Bread : 

Brown 

Graham 

Rye 

White, fresh 



25.0 

ah*. 6 

15.0 
10.0 



25.0 
.30.0 
50.0 
27.1 
10.0 

io.6 



50.0 
5.0 



59.4 

45.0 
49.6 
86.4 
24.0 
16.0 
52.1 
62.2 
53.2 
74.1 
58.1 



28.1 


1.6 


2.2 


66.1 


2.0 


1185 


08.3 


0.3 


0.3 


10.8 


0.3 


190 


29.4 


4.7 


1.0 


62.5 


2.4 


1125 


48.0 


0.8 


0.4 


14.3 


0.6 


200 


81.1 


0.7 


0.2 


2.6 


0.4 


65 


13.8 


1.9 


2.5 


70.6 


1.2 


1275 


1S.8 


4.3 


0.3 


74.2 


2.4 


1280 


58.0 


1.0 


1.2 


14.4 


0.4 


295 


62.5 


0.7 


0.5 


5.9 


0.4 


125 


44.8 


0.3 


.... 


4.6 


0.3 


80 


63.4 


0.6 


0.1 


8.5 


0.4 


1.50 


76.0 


0.5 


0.4 


12.7 


0.4 


230 


66.1 


0.8 


0.7 


31.5 


0.9 


550 


13.1 


2.3 


3.0 


68.5 


3.1 


1265 


85.8 


1.0 




12.6 


0.6 


220 


44.2 


0.7 


0.2 


4.5 


0.4 


100 


85.9 


0.9 


0.6 


7.0 


0.6 


150 


94.0 


1.2 


0.2 


4.0 


0.6 


95 


94.3 


0.9 


0.4 


3.9 


0.5 


100 


37.5 


0.2 


0.1 


2.7 


0.1 


50 


2.7 


11.5 


30.2 


9.5 


1.1 


1515 


2.6 


8.6 


33.7 


3.5 


2.0 


1485 


0.6 


3.8 


8.3 


0.5 


0.4 


385 . 


4.5 


8.1 


5.3 


56.4 


1.7 


1385 


37.0 


5.2 


4.5 


35.4 


1.1 


915 


1.8 


7.5 


31.3 


6.2 


1.1 


1430 


1.4 


5.8 


25.5 


4.3 


0.8 


1145 


1.4 


5.2 


33.3 


6.2 


0.7 


1465 


0.6 


7.2 


14.6 


3.0 


0.5 


7ao 


1.0 


6.9 


26.6 


6.8 


0.6 


1250 


43.6 


5.4 


1.8 


47.1 


2.1 


1040 


35.7 


8.9 


1.8 


52.1 


1.5 


1195 


35.7 


9.0 


0.6 


53.2 


1.5 


1170 


35.3 


9.2 


1.3 


53.1 


1.1 


1200 



2:30 
1:45 

3:00 



3:00 
2:45 
2:00 

4:00 
3:45 

2:45 

2:00 
2:00 



4:00 
4:00 
4:00 



4:00 
4:00 
4:00 
4:00 
4:00 



4:00 
4 :00 
4:00 
4:30 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 



451 



TABLE OF FOOD VALUES (Continued) 



3 
P5 



rt^ 
Pt 



(1^ 









0} 









fa .5 



Vim O . 



White, stale 

Whole Wheat 

Corn, green, sweet, 

canned 

Corn, green, sweet (edi- 
ble part) 

Cornmeal 

Flour : 

Buckwheat 

Graham 

Rye 

Wheat (high grade) . 

Wheat (low grade) . . 

Whole Wheat 

Macaroni, Vermicelli, etc. 
Oat Breakfast Food .... 

Oyster Crackers 

Rice 

Soda Crackers 

Starch 

Wheat Breakfast Food. 

LEGUMES 

Beans, baked, canned. . . 

Beans, dried 

Beans, Lima, shelled. . . 

Beans, String 

Peas, canned 

Peas, dried 

Peas, shelled 

Peanuts 

VEGETABLES. 

Beets 

Cabbage 

Celery 

Lettuce 

Onions 

Parsnips 

Potatoes 

Rhubarb (pie plant) . . . 

Spinach 

Sweet potatoes 

Turnips 

SUGARS. 

Candy, plain 

Honey 

Maple Syrup 

Molasses 

Sugar, granulated 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Chocolate 

Cocoanuts . 

Cocoanuts, p" ' a/ed. . . 

Cocoa. po"'lo"- cl 

Mushroom i 

Tapioca 



85.3 
38.4 

7G.1 

75.4 
12.5 

13.6 

11.3 

12.9 

12.0 

12.0 

11.4 

10.3 

7.7 

4.8 

12.3 

5.9 



9.6 

68.9 
2.6 

... .168.5 
7.0183.0 
.. .135.3 
9.5 
74.6 
6.9 

70.0 
77.7 
75.6 
80.5 
62.6 
66.4 
62.6 
56.6 
92.3 
55.2 
62.7 



24.5 

20.0 
15.0 
20.0 
15.0 
10.0 
20.0 
20.0 
40.0 



20.0 
30.0 



48.8 



3.5 
7.2 
3.5 
4.6 

88.1 
11.4 



9.2 
9.7 

2.8 

3.1 
9.2 

6.4 
13.3 

6.8 
11.4 
14.0 
13.8 
13.4 
16.7 
11.3 

8.0 

9.8 



12.1 

6.9 

22.5 

7.1 

2.1 

3.6 

24.6 

7.0 

19.5 

1.3 
1.3 
0.9 
1.0 
1.4 
1.3 
1.8 
0.4 
2.1 
1.4 
0.9 



12.9 
2.9 
6.3 

21.6 
3.5 
0.4 



1.3 
0.9 

1.2 

1.1 
1.9 

1.2 
1.9 
0.9 
1.0 
1.9 
1.9 
0.9 
7.3 
10.5 
0.3 
9.1 



1.8 

2.5 

1.8 
0.7 
0.3 
0.2 
1.0 
0.5 
29.1 

0.1 
0.1 
0.1 
0.2 
0.3 
0.4 
0.1 
0.4 
0.3 
0.6 
0.1 



48.7 
25.9 
57.4 
28.9 
0.4 
0.1 



53.1 


1.1 


49.7 


1.3 


19.0 


0.9 


19.7 


0.7 


75.4 


1.0 


77.9 


0.9 


71.4 


1.8 


78.7 


0.7 


75.1 


0.5 


71.2 


0.9 


71.9 


1.0 


74.1 


1.3 


66.2 


2.1 


70.5 


2.9 


79.0 


0.4 


73.1 


2.1 


90.0 




75.2 


1.3 


19.6 


2.1 


59.6 


3.5 


22.0 


1.7 


6.9 


0.7 


9.8 


1.1 


62.0 


2.9 


16.9 


1.0 


18.5 


1.5 


7.7 


0.9 


4.8 


0.9 


2.6 


0.8 


2.5 


0.8 


8.9 


0.5 


10.8 


1.1 


14.7 


0.8 


2.2 


0.4 


3.2 


2.1 


21.9 


0.9 


5.7 


0.6 


96.0 





81.0 

71.41 

70.01 

100.0 

30.3 
14.3 
31.5 
37.7 
6.8 
88.0 



2.2 
0.9 
1.3 
7.2 
1.2 
0.1 



1200 
1139 

430 

440 
1635 

1605 
1645 
1620 
1635 
1640 
1650 
1645 
1800 
1910 
1620 
1875 
1675 
1680 

555 

1520 

540 

170 

235 

1565 

440 

1775 

160 

115 

65 

65 

190 

230 

295 

60 

95 

440 

120 

1680 
1420 
1250 
1225 
1750 

5625 
1295 

2805 

2160 

185 

1650 



3:30 
4:00 

3:45 

3:45 



3:00 
1:00 



3:45 
3:45 
3:30 



2:35 



3:45 
4 :30 
3:15 

2:05 
3 :30 
3:30 



4:00 



1 :2() 

2 :00 



452 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

According to this table, it is evident that chocolate is 
the most nutritious food we have; also that cocoa, in its 
powdered state, is the most dangerous of all foods, contain- 
ing three times as much ash as most of the others, and ten 
times as much as many. It is a powerful food and also a 
powerful poison, for it chokes the system more quickly 
than any other substance. 

Of course, it will require some study at first to secure 
the best nourishment, but it pays in health and longevity 
and secures the free use of the body, making study and 
application to higher things possible. After a while the 
aspirant will become so familiar with the subject that he 
will need to give it no particular attention. 

While the foregoing table shows the proportion of chem- 
ical substances contained in each article of food named, it 
must be remembered that not all of this is available for 
use in the system, because there are certain portions which 
the body refuses to assimilate. 

Of vegetables we digest only about 83% of the proteids, 
90% of the fat, and 95% of the carbo-hydrates. 

Of fruits we assimilate about 85% of the proteids, 90% 
of the fat, and 90% of the carbo-hydrates. 

The brain is the co-ordinating mechanism whereby the 
movements of the body are controlled and our ideas are 
expressed. It is built of the same substances as are all 
other parts of the body, with the addition of phosphorus, 
which is peculiar to the brain alone. 

The logical conclusion is that phosphorus is the particu- 
lar element by means of which the Ego is able to express 
thought and influence the dense physical body. It is also 
a fact that the proportion and variation of this substance 
is found to correspond to the state and stage of intelligence 
of the individual. Idiots have very little phosphorus; 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 453 

shrewd thinkers have much; and in the animal world, the 
degree of consciousness and intelligence is in proportion 
to the amount of phosphorous contained in the brain. 

It is therefore of great importance that the aspirant 
who is to use his body for mental and spiritual work, 
should supply his brain with the substance necessary for 
that purpose. Most vegetables and fruits contain a certain 
amount of phosphorus, but it is a peculiar fact that the 
greater proportion is contained in the leaves, which are 
usually thrown away. It is found in considerable quanti- 
-ties in grapes, onions, sage, beans, cloves, pineapples, in 
the leaves and stalks of many vegetables, and also in sugar- 
cane juice, but not in refined sugar. 

The following table shows the proportions of phosphoric 
acid in a few articles : 
1,000 PARTS of: 

Barley, dry, contain, of phosphoric acid, 210 parts 

Beans 292 

Beets 167 

Beats, Leaves of 690 

Buckwheat 170 

Carrots, dry 395 

Carrots, Leaves of 963 

Linseed 880 

Linseed, Stalks of 118 

Parsnips Ill 

Parsnips, Leaves of 1784 

Peas 190 

The gist of the preceding argument may be thus suc- 
cinctly stated: 

(1) The body, throughout the entire period of life, is 
subject to a process of consolidation. 

(2) This process consists of the depositing by the blood 
of earthy substances, principally phosphate and carbonate 
of lime, by which the various parts become ossified, con- 
verted into bone, or kindred matter. 



454 ROSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

(3) This conversion into bone destroys the flexibility 
of the vessels, muscles and other parts of the body subject 
to motion. It thickens the blood and entirely chokes up 
the minute capillaries, so that the circulation of the fluids 
and the action of the system generally diminishes, the 
termination of this process being death. 

(4) This process of consolidation may be retarded and 
life prolonged by carefully avoiding the foods that contain 
much ash; by using distilled water for internal purposes; 
and by promoting excretion through the skin by means of 
frequent baths. 

The foregoing explains why some religions prescribe 
frequent ablutions as a religious exercise, because they pro- 
mote the health and purify the dense body. Fastings were 
al^ prescribed for the same purpose. They give the stom- 
ach a much-needed rest, allow the body to eliminate the 
effete matter, and thus, if not to frequent or too prolonged, 
promote the health, but usually as much and more can be 
accomplished by giving the body proper foods which are 
the best medicines. 

Always the first care of the physician is to ascertain if 
there is proper excretion, that being Nature's chief means 
for ridding the body of the poisons contained in all food?. 

In conclusion, let the aspirant choose such food as is 
most easily digested, for the more easily the energy in 
food is extracted, the longer time will the system have for 
recuperation before it becomes necessary to replenish the 
supply. Milk should never be drunk as one may drink a 
glass of water. Taken in that way, it forms in the stomach 
a large cheese-ball, quite impervious to the action of the 
gastric juices. It should be sipped, as we sip tea or coffee. 
It will then form many small globules in the stomach, 
which are easily assimilated. Properly used, it is one of 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 455 

the best possible articles of diet. Citrus fruits are power- 
ful antiseptics, and cereals, particularly rice, are antitoxins 
of great efficiency. 

Having now explained, from the purely material point 
of view, what is necessary for the dense body, we will con- 
sider the subject from the occult side, taking into con- 
sideration the effect on the two invisible bodies which in- 
terpenetrate the dense body. 

The particular stronghold of the desire body is in the 
muscles and the cerebro-spinal nervous system, as already 
shown. The energy displayed by a person when laboring* 
under great excitement or anger is an example of this. At 
such times the wliole muscular system is tense and no hard 
labor is so exhausting as a "fit of temper.'^ It sometimes 
leaves the body prostrated for weeks. There can be seen 
the necessity for improving the desire body by controlling 
the temper, thus sparing the dense body the suffering re- 
sulting from the ungoverned action of the desire body. 

Looking at the matter from an occult standpoint, all 
consciousness in the Physical World is the result of the 
constant war between the desire and the vital bodies. 

The tendency of the vital body is to soften and build. 
Its chief expression is the blood and the glands, also the 
sympathetic nervous system, having obtained ingress into 
the stronghold of the desire body (the muscular and the 
voluntary nervous systems) when it began to develop the 
heart into a voluntary muscle. 

The tendency of the desire body is to harden, and it in 
turn has invaded the realm of the vital body, gaining pos- 
session of the spleen and making the white blood cor- 
puscles, which are not "the policemen of the system^^ as 
science now thinks, but destroyers. It uses the blood to 
carry these tiny destroyers all over the body. They pass 



456 KOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

through the walls of arteries and veins whenever annoy- 
ance is felt, and especially in times of great anger. Then 
the rush of forces in the desire body makes the arteries 
and veins swell and opens the way for the passage of the 
white corpuscles into the tissues of the body, where they 
form bases for the earthy matter which kills the body. 

Given the same amount and kind of food, the person of 
serene and jovial disposition will live longer, enjoy better 
health, and be more active than the person who worries, or 
loses his temper. The latter will make and distribute 
'through his body more destructive white corpuscles than 
the former. Were a scientist to analyze the bodies of these 
two men, he would find that there was considerably less 
earthy matter in the body of the kindly-disposed man than 
in.that of the scold. 

This destruction is constantly going on and it is not 
possible to keep all the destroyers out, nor is such the 
intention. If the vital body had uninterrupted sway, it 
would build and build, using all the energy for that pur- 
pose. There would be no consciousness and thought. It 
is because the desire body checks and hardens the inner 
parts that consciousness develops. 

There was a time in the far, far past when we set out 
the concretions, as do the mollusks, leaving the body soft, 
flexible and boneless, but at that time we had only the 
dull, glimmering consciousness the mollusks now have. 
Before we could advance, it became necessary to retain 
the concretions and it will be found that the stage of 
consciousness of any species is in proportion to the de- 
velopment of the bony framework within. The Ego must 
have the solid bones with the semi-fluid red marrow, in 
order to be able to build the red blood-corpuscles for its 
expression. 



ACQUIRING FIBST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 457 

That is the highest development of the dense body. 
It signifies that the highest class of animals have the 
same bone formation but still have no indwelling spirit. 
They belong to a different stream of evolution. 

The Law of Assimilatioit. 

The law of assimilation allows no particle to be built 
into our bodies that we, as spirits, have not overcome 
and made subject to ourselves. The forces active along 
these lines are, as we remember, principally our "dead," 
who have entered "heaven" and are learning there to 
build bodies to use here, but they work according to 
certain laws that they cannot circumvent. There is life 
in every particle of food that we take into our bodies, and 
before we can build that life into our bodies by the proc- 
ess of assimilation, we must overcome and make it 
subject to ourselves. Otherwise there could be no harmony 
in the body. Each part would act independently, as they 
do when the co-ordinating life has been withdrawn. That 
would be what we call decay, the process of disintegration, 
which is the direct opposite of assimilation. The more 
individualized the particle to be assimilated is, the more 
energy will it require to digest it and the shorter time 
will it remain before seeking to reassert itself. 

Human beings are not organized in such a manner that 
they can live upon solid minerals. When a purely mineral 
substance, such as salt, is eaten, it passes through the 
body leaving behind it but very little waste. What it 
does leave, however, is of a very injurious character. If 
it were possible for man to use minerals as food, they 
would be ideal for that purpose because of their stability 
and the little energy required to overcome and subject 



458 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

them to the life of the body. We should be compelled 
to eat very much less in quantity and also less often than 
we now do. Our laboratories will some time supply us 
with chemical food of a quality far surpassing anything 
that we now have, which shall be always fresh. Food 
obtained from the higher plants and still more from the 
yet higher animal kingdom, is positively nauseating be- 
cause of the rapidity of decay. This process is caused 
by the efforts made by the individual particles to escape 
from the composite whole. 

The plant kingdom is next above the mineral. It has 
an organization capable of assimilating the mineral com- 
pounds of the Earth. Man and animal can assimilate 
the plants and thus obtain the chemical compounds neces- 
s^y to sustain their bodies and as the consciousness of 
the plant kingdom is that of dreamless sleep, it offers 
no resistance. It requires but little energy to assimilate 
the particles thus derived and having small individuality 
of their own, the life ensouling the particles does not 
seek to escape from our body as soon as food derived from 
more highly developed forms, therefore the strength de- 
rived from a diet of fruit and vegetables is more enduring 
than that derived from a meat diet, and the food supply 
does not require as frequent replenishing, besides giving 
more strength in proportion, because less energy is re- 
quired for assimilation. 

Food composed of the bodies of animals consists of 
particles which have been worked upon and inter-pene- 
trated by an individual desire body, and have thus been 
individualized to a much greater extent than the plant 
particles. There is " an individual cell-soul, which is per- 
meated by the passions and desires of the animal. It 
requires considerable energy to overcome it in the first 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 459 

place, so that it may be assimilated, yet it never becomes 
so fully incorporated into the polity of the body as do 
the plant constituents, which have no such strong indi- 
vidual tendencies. The result is that it is necessary for 
the flesh-eater to consume a greater weight of food than 
is required by the fruitarian; also he must eat oftener. 
Moreover, this inward strife of the particles of flesh causes 
greater wear and tear of the body in general, rendering 
the meat-eater less active and capable of endurance than 
the vegetarian, as all contests between advocates of the 
two methods have demonstrated. 

Therefore, when flesh-food derived from the herbivora 
is such an unstable diet, it is evident that if we should 
try to use the flesh of carnivorous animals, in which the 
cells are still further individualized, we would be forced 
to consume enormous quantities of food. Eating would 
occupy the greater part of our time, but notwithstanding 
that fact, we would always be lean and hungry. That 
such is its effect, can be seen in the wolf and the vulture; 
their leanness and hunger are proverbial. Cannibals eat 
human flesh, but only at long intervals and as a luxury. 
As man does not confine himself exclusively to a meat 
diet, his flesh is not that of an entirely carnivorous beast, 
nevertheless the hunger of the cannibal has also become 
the burden of a proverb. 

If the flesh of the herbivora were the essence of what 
is good in plants, then, logically, the flesh of the carniv- 
ora should be the quintessence. The meat of wolves 
and vultures would thus be the creme de la creme, and 
much to be desired. This we know is not the case, but 
quite the reverse. The nearer we get to the plant king- 
dom, the more strength we derive from our food. If the 
reverse were the case, the flesh of carnivorous animals 



460 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

would be sought by other beasts of prey, but examples 
of "dog eat dog" are very few throughout nature. 

Live anl Let Live. 

The first law of occult science is "Thou shalt not kill/' 
and that should have the greatest weight with the aspirant 
to the higher life. We cannot create so much as one 
particle of dust, therefore what right have we to destroy 
the very least form. All Form is an expression of the 
One Life — the Life of God. We have no right to destroy 
the Form through which the Life is seeking experience, 
and force it to build a new vehicle. 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox, with the true compassion of all 
far-advanced souls, champions this occult maxim, in the 
:5pllowing beautiful words: 

I am the voice of the voiceless; 

Through me the deaf shall speak 

Till a deaf world's ear 

Shall be made to hear 

The wrongs of the wordless weak. 

The same force formed the sparrow 
That fashioned man, the king. 
The God of the Whole 
Gave a spark of soul 
. To furred and feathered thing. 

And I am my brother's Jceeper; 

And I will fight his fight, 

And speak the word 

For beast and bird 

Till the world shall set things right. 

Sometimes the objection is made that life is also taken 
when vegetables and fruits are eaten, but that statement 
is based upon a complete misunderstanding of the facts. 
When the fruit is ripe, it has accomplished its purpose, 
which is to act as a womb for the ripening of the seed. 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 461 

If not eaten, it decays and goes to waste. Moreover, it 
is designed to serve as food for the animal and human 
kingdoms, thus affording the seed oportunities for growth 
by scattering it in fertile soil. Besides, just as the ovum 
and the semen of human beings are ineffectual without the 
seed-atom of the reincarnating Ego and the matrix of 
its vital body, so any egg or seed, of itself, is devoid of 
life. If it is given the proper conditions of incubator or 
soil, the life of the group spirit is then poured into it, 
thus grasping the opportunity so afforded of producing 
a dense body; but if the egg or seed is cooked, crushed, 
or not given the conditions necessary for the life, the 
opportunity is lost, but that is all. 

At the present stage of the evolutionary journey, every- 
one knows inherently that it is wrong to kill and man 
will love and protect the animals in all cases where his 
greed and selfish interest does not blind him to their 
rights. The law protects even a cat or a dog against 
wanton cruelty. Except in "sport," that most wanton of 
all our cruelties against the animal creation, it is always 
for the sake of money that animals are murdered and 
bred to be murdered. By the devotees of "sport" the 
helpless creatures are shot down to no purpose save to 
bolster up a false idea of prowess upon the part of the 
huntsman. It is hard to understand how people who ap- 
pear otherwise sane and kindly can, for the time, trample 
upon all their gentler instincts and revert to bloodthirsty 
savagery, killing for the sheer lust of blood and joy in 
destruction. It is certainly a reversion to the lowest 
savage animal instincts, and can never be dignified into 
the remotest semblance of anything "manly," even though 
practiced and defended by the otherwise humane and 
worthy temporary h^acl of a mighty nation. 



463 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

How much more beautiful it would be for man to play 
the role of friend and protector of the weak. Who does 
not love to visit Central Park in New York City and pet, 
stroke and feed the hundreds of -squirrels which are run- 
ning about secure in the knowledge that they will not be 
molested? And who is not glad, for the sake of the 
squirrels, to see the sign, "Dogs found chasing the squir- 
rels will be shot/' This is hard on the dogs, but it is 
t J be commended as an evidence of the growth of the senti- 
ment favoring the protection of the weak against the 
unreasoning or merciless strong. Nothing is said on the 
sign about the squirrels being injured by men, because 
that would be unthinkable. So strong is the influence of 
the trust the little animals repose in the kindness of man, 
that no one would violate it. 

The Lord's Prayer. 

Keturning to our consideration of the spiritual aids 
to human progress, the Lord's Prayer, which may be 
considered as an abstract, algebraical formula for the up- 
liftment and purification of all the vehicles of man, the 
idea of taking proper care of the dense body is expressed 
in the words: "Give us this day our daily bread.^' 

The prayer dealing with the needs of the vital body 
is, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
trespass against us." 

The vital body is the seat of memory. In it are stored 
the sub-conscious records of all the past events of our 
life, good or ill, including all injuries inflicted or sus- 
tained and benefits received, or bestowed. We remember 
that the record of the life is taken from those pictures 
immediately after leaving the dense body at death, and 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 463 

that all the sufferings of post mortem existence are the 
results of the events these pictures portray. 

If, by continual prayer, we obtain forgiveness for the 
injuries we have inflicted upon othei's and if we make 
all the restitution possible, purify our vital bodies by 
forgiving those who have wronged us, and eliminate all 
ill-feeling, we save ourselves much post moiiem misery, 
besides preparing the way for Universal Brotherhood, 
which is particularly dependent upon the victory of the 
vital body over the desire body. In the form of memory, 
the desire body impresses upon the vital body the idea of 
revenge. An even temper amid the various annoyances of 
daily life indicates such a victory, therefore the aspirant 
should cultivate control of the temper, as it includes work 
on both bodies. The Lord's Prayer includes this also, 
for when we see that we are injuring others, we look 
about and try to find the cause. Loss of temper is one 
of the causes and it originates in the desire body. 

Most people leave physical life with the same tempera- 
ment they bring into it, but the aspirant must systematic- 
ally conquer all attempts of the desire body to assume 
mastery. That can be done by concentration upon high 
ideals, which strengthens the vital body and is much more 
efficacious than the common prayers of the Church. The 
occult scientist uses concentration in preference to prayer, 
because the former is accomplished by the aid of the mind, 
which is cold and unfeeling, whereas prayer is usually 
dictated by emotion. Where it is dictated by a pure un- 
selfish devotion to high ideals prayer is much higher than 
cold concentration. It can never be cold, but bears upon 
the pinions of Love the outpourings of the mystic to the 
Deity. 

The prayer for the desire body is, "Lead us not into 



464 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

temptation." Desire is the great tempter of mankind. 
It is the great incentive to all action, and in so far as the 
actions subserve the purposes of the spirit, it is good; but 
where the desire is for something degrading, something 
that debases the nature, it is indeed meet that we pray 
not to be led into temptation. 

Love, Wealth, Power, and Fame ! — These are the four 
great motives of human action. Desire for one or more 
of these is the motive for all that man does or leaves un- 
done. The great Leaders of humanity have wisely given 
them as incentives to action, that man may gain experi- 
ence and learn thereby. They are necessary, and the 
aspirant may safely continue to use them as motives for 
action, but he must transmute them into something higher. 
He must overcome with nobler aspirations the selfish love 
which seeks the ownership of another Body, and all de- 
sires for wealth, power and fame for narrow and personal 
reasons. 

The Love for which he must long is that only which 
is of the soul and embraces all beings, high and low, in- 
creasing in proportion to the needs of the recipient; 

The Wealth, that which consists solely of abundance of 
opportunities to serve his fellow men; 

The Power, that alone which makes for the upliftment 
of humanity; 

The Fame, none save that which increases his ability 
to spread the good news, that all who suffer may thus 
quickly find solace for the heart's grief. 

The prayer for the mind is "Deliver us from evil." We 
have seen that mind is the link between the higher and 
the lower natures. Animals are permitted to follow de- 
sire without «ny restriction whatever. In their case, there 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 465 

is neither good nor evil, because fhey lack mind, the 
faculty of discrimination. The method of self-protection 
which we pursue in regard to animals which kill and steal 
is different from that which we use in relation to human 
beings who do the same things. Even a human being who 
is bereft of mind is not held accountable. The fact is 
recognized that he does not know he is doing wrong, 
therefore he is simply restrained. 

It was only when his mental eyes were opened that man 
came to know good and evil. When the link of mind be- 
comes allied to the Higher Self and does its bidding, we 
have the high-minded person. On the contrary, the coali- 
tion of the mind with the lower desire nature produces 
the low-minded person; therefore the meaning of this 
prayer is that we may be delivered from' the experience 
resulting from the alliance of the mind with the desire 
body, with all thereby implied. 

The aspirant to the higher life accomplishes the union 
of the higher and the lower 'natures by means of Medita- 
tion on lofty subjects. This union is further cemented by 
Contemplation, and both these states are transcended by 
Adoration, which lifts the spirit to the very Throne. 

The Lord's Prayer, given for the general use of the 
Church, gives Adoration first place, in order to reach 
the spiritual exaltation necessary to proffer a petition 
representing the needs of the lower vehicles. Each aspect 
of the threefold spirit, commencing with the lowest, raises 
itself in adoration to its corresponding aspect of Deity. 
When the three aspects of the spirit are all arrayed before 
the Throne of Grace, each utters the prayer appropriate 
to the needs of its material counterpart, all three joining 
in the closing prayer for the mind. 



4:eG ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

The human spirit soars to its counterpart, the Holy 
Spirit (Jehovah), saying "Hallowed be Thy Name." 

The life spirit bows before its counterpart, The Son 
(Christ), saying "Thy Kingdom Come." 

The divine spirit kneels before its counterpart, The 
Father, with the prayer, "Thy Will be done." 

Then the highest, the divine spirit, petitions the 
highest aspect of the Deity, the Father, for its counter- 
part, the dense body : "Give us this day our daily bread." 

The next highest, the life spirit, prays to its counter- 
part, the Son, for its counterpart in the lower nature, 
the vital body: "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive 
those who trespass against us." 

The lowest aspect of the spirit, the human spirit, next 
offers its petition to the lowest aspect of Deity for the 
highest of the threefold bodies, the desire body: "Lead 
us not into temptation." 

Lastly, in unison, all three aspects of the threefold 
spirit in man join in the most important of the prayers, 
the petition for the mind, in the words : "Deliver us from 
evil." 

The introduction, "Our Father Who art in Heaven," 
is merely as the address on an envelope. The addition, 
"For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the 
Glory, forever. Amen," was not given by Christ, but is 
very appropriate as the parting adoration of the three- 
fold spirit as it closes its direct address to the Deity. 

Diagram 16 illustrates the foregoing explanation in a 
simple and easily remembered manner, showing the con- 
nection between the different prayers and the correspond- 
ing vehicles, which are similarly colored. This diagram 
is inserted opposite the title page. 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 467 

The Vow of Celibacy. 

The sex-pervert, or sex-maniac, is a proof of the cor- 
rectness of the contention of occultists that one part of 
the sex-force builds the brain. He becomes an idiot, 
unable to think because of drawing and sending out, not 
only the negative or positive part of the sex-force (ac- 
cording to whether male or female) which is noiTaally 
to be used through the sex-organ for ' propagation, but 
in addition to that, some of the for^e which should build 
up the brain, enabling it to produce thought — hence the 
mental deficiency. 

On the other hand, if the person is given to spiritual 
thought, the tendency to use the sex-force for propagation 
is slight, and whatever part of it is not used in that way 
may be transmuted into spiritual force. 

That is why the initiate, at a certain stage of develop- 
ment, takes the vow of celibacy. It is not an easy vow, 
nor one to be lightly taken By one desirous of spiritual 
advancement. Many people who are not yet ripe for the 
higher life have ignorantly bound themselves to a life of 
asceticism. They are as dangerous to the community and 
to themselves on the one hand as is the imbecile sex- 
maniac on the other. 

At the present stage of human evolution the sex func- 
tion is the means whereby bodies are provided, through 
which the spirit can gain experience. The people who 
are most prolific and follow the creative impulse un- 
reservedly are the lowest classes; thus it is difficult for 
incoming entities to find good vehicles amid environments 
enabling them to unfold their faculties in such a manner 
as to permanently benefit themselves and the rest of 
humanity, for among the wealthier classes who could 
furnish more favorable conditions many have few or no 



468 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

children. It is not because they live abstemious sex- 
lives, but for the entirely selfish reasons that they may 
have more ease and leisure and indulge in unlimited sex- 
gratification without the burden of a family. Among the 
less-wealthy middle class, families are also restricted, but 
in their case partially for economic reasons, that they 
may give one or two children educational and other ad- 
vantages that their means would not permit them to give 
to four or five. 

Thus man exercises his divine prerogative of bringing 
disorder into nature. Incoming Egos must take the oppor- 
tunities offered them sometimes under unfavorable circum- 
stances. Other Egos who cannot do that, must wait till 
favorable environment offers. Thus do we affect one an- 
other by our actions and thus are the sins of the fathers 
vi^ted upon the children, for as the Holy Spirit is the 
creative energy in nature, the sex energy is its reflection 
in man, and misuse or abuse of that power is the sin that 
is not forgiven, but must be expiated in impaired efficiency 
of the vehicles, in order to thoroughly teach us the 
sanctity of the creative force. ' 

Aspirants to the higher life, filled with an earnest 
desire to live a noble spiritual life, often regard the sex- 
function with horror, because of the harvest of misery 
which humanity has reaped as a result of its abuse. They 
are apt to turn in disgust from what they regard, as im- 
purity, overlooking the fact that it is precisely such peo- 
ple as they who (having brought their vehicles into good 
condition by means of proper sanitary food, high and 
lofty thought, and pure and spiritual lives) are best 
fitted to generate the dense bodies essential to the develop- 
ment of entities seeking incarnation. It is common knowl- 
edge among occult scientists that, to the detriment of the 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 469 

race, many high-class Egos are kept out of incarnation 
at the present time solely because parents cannot be found 
who are pure enough to provide them with the necessary 
physical vehicles. 

Persons who, for the reason above mentioned, refrain 
from doing their duty to humanity, are magnifying the 
sun-spots to such an extent that they forget to see the 
Sun itself ! The sex-function has its great place in the 
economy of the world. When properly used, there is no 
greater boon to the Ego, for it then provides pure and 
healthful bodies such as man needs for his development; 
conversely, when abused, there is no greater curse, for it 
is then the source of the worst ills to which flesh is heir. 

It is a truism that "no man liveth unto himself." By 
our words and acts we are constantly aifecting others. 
By the proper performance, or the neglect of our duty, 
we make or mar the lives, first, of those in our immediate 
environment, but ultimately of all the inhabitants of the 
Earth, and more. No one has a right to seek the higher 
life without having performed his duty to his family, 
his country, and the human race. To selfishly set aside 
everything else and live solely for one's own spiritual 
advancement, is as reprehensible as not to care for the 
spiritual life at all. Nay, it is worse; for those who do 
their duty in the ordinary life to the best of their ability, 
devoting themselves to the welfare of those dependent 
upon them, are cultivating the essential quality of faith- 
fulness. They will certainly advance in due time to a 
point where they will become awake to spiritual necessi- 
ties, and will carry to that work the faithfulness developed 
elsewhere. The man who deliberately turns his back upon 
his present duties to take up the spiritual life will surely 
be forced back into the path of duty from which he has 



470 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

mistakenly diverged, with no possible means of escape 
until the lesson has been learned. 

Certain tribes of India make the following excellent 
division of life. The first twenty years are spent in ob- 
taining an education ; the years from 20 to 40 are devoted 
to the duty of raising a family; and the remaining time 
is devoted to spiritual development, without any physical 
cares to harass or distract the mind. 

During the first period the child is supported by its 
parents; during the second period the man, in addition 
to supporting his own family, cares for his parents while 
they are giving their attention to higher things; and 
during the balance of his life, he is in turn supported 
by his children. 

This seems a very sensible method, and is quite satis- 
factory in a country where all, from the cradle to the 
grave, feel the spiritual need, to such degree that they 
mistakenly neglect material development except as im- 
pelled by the lash of direst need, and where the children 
cheerfully support their parents, secure in the knowledge 
that they will be supported in turn and thus be enabled 
to devote themselves entirely to the higher life after hav- 
ing performed their duty to their country and to humanity. 
In the Western World, however, where no spiritual need 
is at present felt by the average man because he is prop- 
erly following material lines of development, such a mode 
of life would be impossible of realization. 

Spiritual desire never comes until the time is ripe, and 
always when the particular conditions obtain under which 
we must seek its gratification, if at all. Whatever duties 
exist which are apparent restrictions must be borne. If 
the care of a family prevents the complete consecration 
desired, the aspirant would certainly not be justified in 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 471 

neglecting duty and devoting the entire time and energy 
to spiritual purposes. An effort must be made to gratify 
such aspirations without interfering with duty to family. 

If the desire to live a celibate life comes to a person 
who holds marriage relations with another, the obligations 
of such relations are not to be forgotten. It would be 
very wrong, by practicing celibacy under such circum- 
stances, to endeavor to escape from the proper perform- 
ance of duty. As to what constitutes duty in regard to 
coition, however, there is a standard for aspirants to the 
higher life different from that of the ordinary man or 
woman. 

Most people regard marriage as sanctioning unlimited 
license for the gratification of sexual desire. In the eyes 
of statute law, perhaps it does so, but no man-made law 
nor custom has any right to govern this matter. Occult 
science teaches that the sex-function should never be used 
for sense-gratification, but for propagation only. There- 
fore an aspirant to the higher life would be justified in 
refusing coition with the marriage partner unless the 
object were the begetting of a child, and then only if both 
parties were in perfect health — physically, morally and 
mentally — as otherwise the union would be likely to re- 
sult in the generation of a feeble or degenerate body. 

Each person owns his or her body, and is responsible 
to the law of Consequence for any misuse resulting from 
the weak-willed abandonment of that body to another. 

In the light of the foregoing, and looking at the matter 
from the viewpoint of occult science, it is both a duty 
and a privilege (to be exercised with thanks for the 
opportunity) for all persons who are healthy and of sound 
mind to provide vehicles for as many entities as is con- 
sistent with their health and abilitv to care for the same. 



472 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

And, as previously stated, most particularly are aspirants 
to the higher life under obligation in this respect, on ac- 
count of the purification which their purer lives have 
wrought in their bodies, because of which they are better 
qualified than ordinary humanity to generate pure vehicles. 
Thus they enable high-class entities to find suitable 
vehicles and help humanity to advance by affording these 
waiting Egos opportunities to incarnate and exercise their 
influence at an earlier period than would otherwise be 
possible. 

If the sex-force is used in the way indicated, coition 
will take place but few times in a life, and practically the 
entire sex-force may be used for spiritual purposes. It 
is not the use, but the abuse that causes all the trouble 
and interferes with the spiritual life, so there is no need' 
f(?r anyone to abandon the higher life because he or she 
cannot be celibate. It is not necessary to be strictly celi- 
bate while going through the lesser Initiations. The vow 
of absolute celibacy applies to the greater Initiations only, 
and even then a single act of fecundation may sometimes 
be necessary as an act of sacrifice, as was the case in pro- 
viding a body for Christ. 

It may also be said that it is worse to suffer from a 
burning desire, to be constantly thinking vividly of the 
gratification of sense, than to live the married life in 
moderation. Christ taught that unchaste thoughts are 
as bad as, and even worse than unchaste acts, because 
thoughts may be repeated indefinitely, whereas there is at 
least some limit to acts. 

The aspirant to the higher life can be successful only 
in proportion to the extent of the subjugation of the lower 
nature, but should beware of the other extreme. 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 473 

The Pituitary Body and the Pineal Gland. 

In the brain, and in approximately the positions shown 
in diagram 17, are two small organs called the pituitary 
body and the pineal gland. Medical science knows but 
little about these^ or the other ductless glands of the body. 
It calls the pineal gland "the atrophied third eye,'^ yet 
neither it nor the pituitary body are atrophying. This 
is very perplexing to scientists, for nature retains nothing 
Useless. All over the body we find organs which are either 
atrophying or developing, the former being milestones, 
as it were, along the path which man has traveled to reach 
his present stage of development, the latter pointing out 
the lines for future improvement and development. For 
instance, the muscles which animals use to move the ears 
are present in man also, but as they are atrophying, few 
people can use them. The heart belongs to the class 
indicating future development; as already shown, it is 
becoming a voluntary muscle. 

The pituitary body and the pineal gland belong to still 
another class of organs, which at the present time are 
neither evolving nor degenerating, but are dormant. In 
the far past, when man was in touch with the "inner" 
Worlds, these organs were his means of ingress thereto, 
and they will again serve that purpose at a later stage. 
They were connected with the involuntary or sympathetic 
nervous system. Man then saw the inner Worlds, as in 
the Moon Period and the latter part of the Lemurian and 
early Atlantean Epochs. Pictures presented themselves 
quite independent of his will. The sense-centers of his 
desire body were spinning around counter-clockwise (fol- 
lowing negatively the motion of the Earth, which revolves 
on its axis in that direction) as the sense-centers of 



474 KOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

"mediums" do to this day. In most people these sense- 
centers are inactive, but true development will set them 
spinning clockwise, as explained elsewhere. That is the 
difficult feature in the development of positive clairvoy- 
ance. 

The development of mediumship is much easier, be- 
cause it is merely a revival of the mirror-like function 
possessed by man in the far past, by which the outside 
world was involuntarily reflected in him, and which func- 
tion was afterward retained by inbreeding. With present- 
day mediums this power is intermittent, which explains 
why they can sometimes "see" and at other times, for no 
apparent reason, fail utterly. Occasionally, the strong 
desire of the client enables them to get into touch with 
the information he is seeking, on which occasions they 
seS correctly, but they are not always honest. Office rent 
and other expenses must be paid, so when the power 
(over which they have no conscious control) fails them, 
some resort to fraud and utter any absurdity that occurs 
to their minds, in order to satisfy their client and get his 
money, thus casting discredit upon what they really do 
see at other times. 

The aspirant to true spiritual sight and insight must 
first of all give proof of unselfishness, because the trained, 
clairvoyant has no "off days." He is not in the least 
mirror-like, dependent upon the reflections which may 
happen to come his way. He is able to reach out at any 
time and in any direction, and read the thoughts and 
plans of others, provided he particularly turns his atten- 
tion that way — not otherwise. 

The great danger to society which would result from 
the indiscriminate use of this power if possessed by an un- 
worthy individual, can be easily understood. He would 



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476 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION 

be able to read the most secret thought. Therefore the 
initiate is bound by the most solemn vows never to use 
this power to serve his individual intere t in the slightest 
degree, nor to save himself a pang. He may feed five thou- 
sand others if he will, but he must not turn a stone into 
bread to appease his own hunger. He may heal others of 
palsy and leprosy, but by the Law of the Universe, he is 
forbidden to stanch his own mortal wounds. Because he 
is bound by his vow of absolute unselfishness, it is ever 
true of the Initiate that although he saves others, himself 
he cannot save. 

So the trained clairvoyant who really has something to 
give will never hang out a sign offering to exercise his 
gifts for a fee, but will give and give freely where he con- 
siders it consistent with the ripe destiny generated under 
the law of consequence by the person to be helped. 

Trained clairvoyance is the kind used for investigating 
occult facts, and it is the only kind that is of any use for 
that purpose. Therefore the aspirant must feel, not a wish 
to gratify an idle curiosity, but a holy and unselfish desire 
to help humanity. Until such a desire exists, no progress 
can be made in the attainment of positive clairvoyance. 

In the ages that have passed since the Lemurian Epoch 
humanity has been gradually building the cerebro-spinal 
nervous system, which is under the control of the will. In 
the latter part of the Atlantean Epoch, this was so far 
evolved that it became possible for the Ego to take 'full pos- 
session of the dense body. That was the time (previously 
described) when the point in the vital body came into cor- 
respondence with the point at the root of the nose in the 
dense body and the indwelling spirit became awake in the 
Physical World but, so far as the greater part of humanity 
was concerned, lost consciousness of the inner Worlds. 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 477 

Since then, the connection of the pineal gland and the 
pituitary body with the cerebro-spinal nervous system has 
been slowly building, and is now all but complete. 

To regain contact with the inner Worlds, all that re- 
mains to be done is the reawakening of the pituitary body 
and the pineal gland. When that is accomplished, man 
will again possess the faculty of perception in the higher 
worlds, but on a grander scale than formerly, because it 
will be in connection with the voluntary nervous system 
and therefore under the control of his Will. Through this 
inner perceptive faculty all avenues of knowledge will, be 
opened to him and he will have at his service a means of 
acquiring information compared with which all other 
methods of investigation are but child's play. 

The awakening of these organs is accomplished by Eso- 
teric Training, which we will now describe, as far as may 
be done in public. 

Esoteric Training. 

In the majority of people, the greater part of the sex- 
force which may legitimately be used through the creative 
organs is expended for sense-gratification; therefore in 
such people there is very little of the ascending current 
shown in diagram 17. 

When the aspirant to the higher life begins to curb these 
excesses more and more, and to devote his attention to 
spiritual thoughts and efforts, the trained clairvoyant can 
perceive the unused sex-force commencing to ascend. It 
surges upward in stronger and stronger volume, along the 
path indicated by the arrows in diagram 17, traversing 
the heart and the larynx or the spinal cord and the larynx 
or both, and then passing directly between the pituitary 
body and the pineal gland toward the dark point at the 



478 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

root of the nose where "The Silent Watcher/' the highest 
spirit, has its seat. 

These currents do not usually take one of the two paths 
indicated in the diagram to the entire exclusion of the 
other, but generally one path is traveled by the greater 
volume of the sex-currents, according to the temperament 
of the aspirant. In one who is seeking enlightenment 
along purely intellectual lines the current travels particu- 
larly over the spinal cord and only a small part goes o\er 
the path through the heart. In the mystic who feels 
rather than knows, the currents find their way upwards 
through the heart. 

Both are developing abnormally, and each must some- 
time take up the development he has neglected, so as to 
become fully rounded. Therefore the Kosicrucians aim 
to give a teaching that will satisfy both classes, although 
their main efforts are expended in reaching the intellec- 
tually minded, for their need is the greatest. 

This current of itself, however, even though it assumes 
the proportions of a Niagara and flows until the crack of 
doom, will be useless. But still, as it is not only a neces- 
sary accompaniment, but a pre-requisite to self-conscious 
work in the inner World, it must be cultivated to some 
extent before the real esoteric training can begin. It will 
thus be seen that a moral life devoted to spiritual thought 
must be lived by the aspirant for a certain length of time 
before it is possible to commence the work that will give 
him first-hand knowledge of the super-^^hysical realms and 
enable him to become, in the truest sense, a helper of 
humanity. 

When the candidate has lived such a life for a time suf- 
ficient to establish the current of spiritual force, and is 
found worthy and qualified to receive esoteric instruction. 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 47^ 

he is taught certain exercises, to set the pituitary body in 
vibration. This vibration causes the pituitary body to im- 
pinge upon and slightly deflect the nearest line of force 
(See diagram 17). This, in turn, impinges upon the line 
netx to it, and so the process continues until the force of 
the vibration has been spent. It is similar to the way in 
which the striking of one note on a piano will produce a 
number of overtones, by setting up a vibration in the other 
strings which are at proper intervals of pitch. 

When by the increased vibration of the pituitary body, 
the lines of force have been deflected sufficiently to reach 
the pineal gland, the object has been accomplished, the gap 
between these two organs has been bridged. This is the 
bridge between the World of Sense and the World of De- 
sire. From the time it is built, man becomes clairvoyant 
and able to direct his gaze where he will. Solid objects are 
seen both inside and out. To him space and solidity, as 
hindrances to observation, have ceased to exist. 

He is not yet a trained clairvoyant, but he is a clairvoy- 
ant at will, a voluntary clairvoyant. His is a very different 
faculty from that possessed by the medium, who is usually 
an involuntary clairvoyant and can see only what comes; 
or who has, at best, very little more than the purely nega- 
tive faculty. But the person in whom this bridge is once 
built is always in sure touch with the inner Worlds, the 
connection being made and broken at his will. By degrees, 
the observer learns to control the vibration of the pituitary 
body in a manner enabling him to get in touch with any of 
the regions of the inner Worlds which he desires to visit. 
The faculty is completely under the control of his will. It 
is not necessary for him to go into a trance or do anything 
abnormal, to raise his consciousness to the Desire World. 
He simply wills to see, and sees. 



480 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

As was explained in the earlier part of this work, the 
neophyte must learn to see in the Desire World, or rather, 
he must learn how to understand what he sees there. In 
the Physical World objects are dense, solid, and do not 
change in the twinkling of an eye. In the Desire World 
they change in the most erratic manner. This is a source 
of endless confusion to the negative involuntary clairvoy- 
ant, and even to the neophyte who enters under the guid- 
ance of a teacher, but the teaching soon brings the pupil 
to a point where the Form may change as often as it will ; 
he can perceive the Life that causes the change, and knows 
it for what it is, despite all possible and puzzling changes. 

There is also another and most important distinction to 
be made. The power which enables one to perceive the 
objects in a world is not identical with the power of enter- 
ing that world and functioning there. The voluntary clair- 
voyant, though he may have received some training, and is 
able to distinguish the true from the false in the Desire 
World, is in practically the same relation to it as a prisoner 
behind a barred window is to the outside world — he can 
see it, but cannot function therein. Therefore esoteric 
training not only opens up the inner vision of the aspirant, 
but at the proper time further exercises are given to fur- 
nish him with a vehicle in which he can function in the 
inner Worlds in a perfectly self-conscious manner. 

How THE Inner Vehicle Is Built. 

In ordinary life most people live to eat, they drink, 
gratify the sex-passion in an unrestrained manner, and lose 
their tempers on the slightest provocation. Though out- 
wardly these people may be very "respectable,^^ they are, 
nearly every day of their lives, causing almost utter con- 
fusion in their organization. The entire period of sleep 



ACQUIRING FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE 481 

is spent by the desire and the vital bodies in repairing the 
damage done in the day time, leaving no time for outside 
work of any kind. But as the individual begins to feel 
the needs of the higher life, control sex-force, and temper, 
and cultivate a serene disposition, there is less disturbance 
caused in the vehicles during waking hours; consequently 
less time is required to repair the damage during sleep. 
Thus it becomes possible to leave the dense body for long 
periods during sleeping hours, and function in the inner 
Worlds in the higher vehicles. As the desire body and 
the mind are not yet organized, they are of no use as sep- 
arate vehicles of consciousness. Neither can the vital body 
leave the dense body, as that would cause death, so it is 
evident that measures must be taken to provide an or- 
ganized vehicle which is fluidic and so constructed that it 
will meet the needs of the Ego in the inner Worlds as does 
the dense body in the Physical World. 

The vital body is such an organized vehicle, and if some 
means could be found to loosen it from the dense body 
without causing death, the problem would be solved. Be- 
sides, the vital body is the seat of memory, without which 
it would be impossible to bring back into our physical con- 
sciousness the remembrance of super-physical experiences 
and thus obtain the full benefit of them. 

We remember that the Hierophants of the old Mystery 
Temples segregated some of the people into castes and 
tribes such as the Brahmins and the Levites, for the pur- 
pose of providing bodies for the use of such Egos as were 
advanced enough to be ready for Initiation. This was done 
in such a manner that the vital body became separable 
into two parts, as were the desire bodies of all humanity 
at the beginning of the Earth Period. When the Hiero- 
phant took the pupils out of their bodies he left one part 



482 KOSICRUClAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

of the vital body, comprising the first and second ethers, to 
perform the purely animal functions (they are the only 
ones active during sleep), the pupil taking with him a 
vehicle capable of perception, because of its connection 
with the sense-centers of the dense body; and also capable 
of memory. It possessed these capabilities because it wa& 
composed of the third and fourth ethers, which are the 
mediums of sense-perception and memory. 

This is, in fact, that part of the vital body which the 
aspirant retains from life to life, and immortalizes as the 
Intellectual Soul. 

Since Christ came and "took away the sin of the world," 
(not of the individual) purifying the desire body of our 
planet, the connection between all human dense and vital 
^odies has been loosened to such an extent that, by train- 
ing, they are capable of separation as above described. 
Therefore Initiation is open to all. 

The finer part of the desire body, which constitutes the 
Emotional Soul, is capable of separation in most people 
(in fact, it possessed that capability even before Christ 
came) and thus when, by concentration and the use of the 
proper formula, the finer parts of the vehicles have been 
segregated for use during sleep, or at any other time, the, 
lower parts of the desire and vital bodies are still left to 
carry on the processes of restoration in the dense vehicle, 
the mere animal part. 

That part of the vital body which goes out is highly or- 
ganized, as we have seen. It is an exact counterpart of the 
dense body. The desire body and the mind, not being or- 
ganized, are of use only because they are connected with 
the highly organized dense body. When separated from 
it they are but poor instruments, therefore before man 



AC^UIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 483 

can withdraw from the dense body, the sense-centers of the 
desire body must be awakened. 

In ordinary life the Ego is inside its bodies and its force 
is directed outward. All man's will and energy are bent 
upon the task of subduing the outside world. At no time 
is he able to get away from the impressions of his outside 
environment and thus be free to work on himself in his 
waking hours. During sleep, when such an opportunity 
is afforded, because of the dense body having lost con- 
sciousness of the world, the Ego is outside his bodies. If 
man is to work on his vehicles at all, it must be when the 
outside world is shut out as in sleep, but yet the spirit still 
remains within and in full control of the faculties, as it is 
in the waking state. Not until such a state can be attained 
will it be possible for the spirit to work inwardly and prop- 
erly sensitize its vehicles. 

Concentration is such a state. When in it, the senses 
are stilled and a person is outwardly in the same condition 
as in the deepest sleep, yet the spirit remains within and 
fully conscious. Most people have experienced this state, 
at least in some degree, when they have become interested 
to absorption in a hook. At such times they live in the 
scenes depicted by the author and are lost to their environ- 
ment. When spoken to, they are oblivious to the sound, 
so to all else transpiring around them, yet they are fully 
awake to all they are reading, to the invisible world created 
by the author, living there and feeling the heart-beats of 
all the different characters in the story. They are not 
independent, but are bound in the life which some one has 
created for them in the book. 

The aspirant to the higher life cultivates the faculty of 
becoming absorbed at will in any subject he chooses, or 
rather not a subject usually, but a very simple object, which 



484 ROSICBUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

he imagines. Thus when the proper condition or point of 
absorption has been reached where his senses are absolutely 
still, he concentrates his thought upon the different sense- 
centers of the desire body and they start to revolve. 

At first their motion is slow and hard to bring about, 
but by degrees the sense-centers of the desire body will 
make places for themselves within the dense and vital 
bodies, which learn to accommodate themselves to this new 
activity. Then some day, when the proper life has 
developed the requisite cleavage between the higher and 
lower parts of the vital body, there is a supreme effort of 
the will; a spiral motion in many directions takes place, 
and the aspirant stands outside his dense body. He looks 
at it as at another person. The door of his prison-house 
has been opened. He is free to come and go, as much at 
4iberty in the inner worlds as in the Physical World, func- 
tioning at will, in the inner or outer World, a helper of 
all desiring his services in any of them. 

Before the aspirant learns to voluntarily leave the body, 
he may have worked in the desire body during sleep, for 
in some people the desire body becomes organized before 
the separation can be brought about in the vital body. Un- 
der those conditions it is impossible to bring back these 
subjective experiences to waking consciousness, but gen- 
erally in such cases it will be noticed, as the first sign of 
development, that all confused dreams will cease. Then, 
after a while, the dreams will become more vivid and per- 
fectly logical. The aspirant will dream of being in places 
and with people (whether known to him in waking hours 
or not matters little), conducting himself in as reasonable 
a way as if he were in the waking state. If the place of 
which he dreams is accessible to him in waking hours, he 
may sometimes get proof of the reality of his dream if he 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 485 

will note some physical detail of the scene and verify his 
nocturnal impression next day. 

He will next find that he can, during sleeping hours, 
visit any place he desires upon the face of the Earth and 
investigate it a great deal more thoroughly than if he had 
gone there in the dense body, because in his desire body 
he has access to all places, regardless of locks and bars. 
If he persists, there will at last come a day when he need 
not wait for sleep to dissolve the connection between his 

vehicles, but can consciously set himself free. 

Specific directions for freeing the higher vehicles can- 
not be given indiscriminately. The separation is brought 
about, not by a set formula of words, but rather by an act 
of will, yet the manner in which the will is directed is in- 
dividual, and can therefore be given only by a competent 
teacher. Like all other real esoteric information, it is 
never sold, but comes only as a result of the pupil qualify- 
ing himself to receive it. All that can be done here is to 
give an indication of the first steps which lead up to the 
acquirement of the faculty of voluntary clairvoyance. 

The most favorable time to exercise is on first awaken- 
ing in the morning, before any of the worries and cares of 
daily life have entered the mind. At that time one is fresh 
from the inner Worlds and therefore more easily brought 
back into touch with them than at any other time of the 
day. Do not wait to dress, or sit up in bed, but relax the 
body perfectly and let the exercises be the first waking 
thought. Eelaxation does not mean simply a comfortable 
position ; it is possible to have every muscle tense with ex- 
pectation and that of itself frustrates the object, for in that 
condition the desire body is gripping the muscles. It can- 
not do otherwise till we calm the mind. 



486 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Concentration. 

The first thing to practice is fixing one's thoughts -upon 
some ideal and holding them there without letting them 
swerve. It is an exceedingly hard task, but, to some extent 
at least, it must be accomplished before it is possible to 
make any further progress. Thought is the power we use 
in making images, pictures, thought-forms, according to 
ideas from within. It is our principal power, and we must 
learn to have absolute control of it, so that what we pro- 
duce is not wild illusion induced by outside conditions, but 
true imagination generated by the spirit from within (see 
diagram 1). 

Sceptics will say that it is all imagination but, as said 
before, if the inventor had not been able to imagine the 
telephone, etc., we would not today possess those things. 
His imaginings were not generally correct or true at first, 
otherwise the inventions would have worked successfully 
from the beginning, without the many failures and ap- 
parently useless experiments that have nearly always pre- 
ceded the production of the practical and serviceable in- 
strument or machine. Neither is the imagination of the 
budding occult scientist correct at first. The only way to 
make it true is by uninterrupted practice, day after day, 
exercising the will to keep the thought focussed upon one 
subject, object, or idea, exclusive of all else. Thought is a 
great power which we have been accustomed to waste. It 
has been allowed to flow on aimlessly, as water flows over a 
precipice before it is made to turn the wheel. 

The rays of the Sun, diffused over the entire surface of 
the Earth, produce only a moderate warmth, but if even a 
few of them are concentrated by means of a glass, they are 
capable of producing fire at the focusing-point. 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 487 

Thought-force is the most powerful means of obtaining 
knowledge. If it is concentrated upon a subject, it will 
burn its way through any obstacle and solve the problem. 
If the requisite amount of thought-force is brought to bear, 
there is nothing that is beyond the power of human com- 
prehension. So long as we scatter it, thought-force is of 
little use to us, but as soon as we are prepared to take the 
trouble necessary to harness it, all knowledge is ours. 

We often hear people exclaim petulantly, "Oh, I cannot 
think of a hundred things at once !" when really that is 
exactly what they have been doing, and what has caused 
the very trouble of which they complain. People are con- 
stantly thinking of a hundred things other than the one 
they have in hand. Every success has been accomplished 
by persistent concentration upon the desired end. 

This is something the aspirant to the higher life must 
positively learn to do. There is no other way. At first he 
will find himself thinking of everything under the sun in- 
stead of the ideal upon which he has decided to concen- 
trate, but he must not let that discourage him. In time 
he will find it easier to still his senses and hold his 
thoughts steady. Persistence, persistence, and always 
PEESISTENCE will win at last. Without that, how- 
ever, no results can be expected. It is of no use to perform 
the exercises for two or three mornings or weeks and then 
neglect them for as long. To be effective they must be 
done faithfully every morning without fail. 

Any subject may be selected, according to the tempera- 
ment and mental persuasion of the aspirant, so long as 
it is pure and mentally uplifting in its tendency. Christ 
will do for some; others, who love flowers particularly, are 
most easily helped by taking one as the subject of concen- 
tration. The object matters little, but whatever it is we 



488 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

must imagine it true to life in all details. If it is Christ, 
we must imagine a real Christ, with mobile features, life 
in His eyes, and an expresson that is not stony and dead. 
We must build a living ideal, not a statue. If it is a 
flower, we must, in imagination, take the seed and having 
buried it in the ground, fix our mind upon it steadily. 
Presently we shall see it burst, shooting forth its roots, 
which penetrate the Earth in a spiral manner. From the 
main branches of the roots we watch the myriads of minute 
rootlets, as they branch out and ramify in all directions. 
Then the stem begins to shoot upward, bursting through 
the surface of the earth and coming forth as a tiny green 
stalk. It grows; presently there is an off-set; a tiny twig 
shoots out from the main stem. It grows; another off-set 
and a branch appears; from the branches, little stalks 
with buds at the end shoot out ; presently there are a num- 
ber of leaves. Then comes a bud at the top; it grows 
larger until it begins to burst and the red leaves of the 
rose show beneath the green. It unfolds in the air, emit- 
ting an exquisite perfume, which we sense perfectly as it 
is wafted to us on the balmy summer breeze which gently 
Fawys the beautiful creation before the mind's eye. 

Only when we "imagine" in such clear and complete out- 
lines as these, do we enter into the spirit of concentration. 
There must be no shadowy, faint resemblance. 

Those who have traveled in India have told of fakirs 
showing them a seed, which was planted and grew before 
the eyes of the astonished witness, bearing fruit which the 
traveler tasted. That was done by concentration so intense 
that the picture was visible, not only to the fakir himself, 
but also to the spectators. A case is recorded where the 
members of a committee of scientists all saw the wonderful 
things done before their eyes, under conditions where 



ACQUIEING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 489 

sleiglit-of-hand was impossible, yet the photographs which 
they obtained while the experiment was in progress, came 
to naught. There was no impression on the sensitive 
plates, because there had been no material, concrete objects. 

At first the pictures which the aspirant builds will be 
but shadowy and poor likenesses, but in the end he can, 
by concentration, conjure up an image more real and alive 
than things in the Physical World. 

When the aspirant has become able to form such pictures 
and has succeeded in holding his mind upon the picture 
thus created, he may try to drop the picture suddenly and, 
holding his mind steady without any thought, wait to see 
what comes into the vacuum. 

For a long time nothing may appear and the aspirant 
must carefully guard against making visions for himself, 
but if he keeps on faithfully and patiently every morning, 
there will come a time when, the moment he has let the 
imaged picture drop, in a flash the surrounding Desire 
World will open up to his inner eye. At first it may be 
but a mere glimpse, but it is an earnest of what will later 
come at will. 

Meditation. 

When the aspirant has practiced concentration for some 
time, focussing the mind upon some simple object, build- 
ing a living thought-form by means of the imaginative 
faculty, he will, by means of Meditation, learn all about 
the object thus created. 

Supposing that the aspirant has, by concentration, 
called up the image of the Christ. It is very easy to 
meditatively recall the incidents of His life, suffering 
and resurrection, but much beyond that can be learned 
by meditation. Knowledge never before dreamed of will 



490 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

flood the soul with a glorious light. Yet something that 
is uninteresting and does not of itself suggest anything 
marvelous, is better for practice. Try to find out all 
about — say, a match^ or a common table. 

When the image of the table has been clearly formed 
in the mind, think what kind of wood it is and whence 
it came. Go back to the time when, as a tiny seed, the 
tree from which the wood was cut first fell into the forest 
soil. Watch it grow from year to year, covered by the 
snows of winter and warmed by the summer Sun, steadily 
growing upward — its roots meanwhile constantly spread- 
ing under the ground. First it is a tender sapling, sway- 
ing in the breeze; then, as a young tree, it gradually 
stretches higher and higher toward the air and the sun- 
shine. As the years pass, its girth becomes greater and 
^eater, until at last one day the logger comes, with his 
axe and saw gleaming as they reflect the rays of the winter 
Sun. Our tree is felled and shorn of its branches, leav- 
ing but the trunk; that is cut into logs, which are hauled 
over the frozen roads to the river-bank, there to await the 
springtime when the melting snow swells the streams. 
A great raft of the logs is made, the pieces of our tree 
being among them. We know every little peculiarity 
about them and would recognize them instantly among 
thousands, so clearly have we marked them in our mind. 
We follow the raft down the stream, noting the passing 
landscape and becoming familiar with the men who have 
the care of the raft and who sleep upon little huts built 
upon their floating charge. At last we see, it arrive at 
a sawmill and disbanded. One by one the logs are grasped 
by prongs on an endless chain and hauled out of the water. 
Here comes one of our logs, the widest part of which will 
be made into the top of our table. It is hauled out of 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 49I 

the water to the log-deck and rolled about by men with 
peavies. We hear the hungry wliine of the great circular 
saws as they revolve so fast that they appear as mere blurs 
before our eyes. Our log is placed upon a- carriage which 
is propelled toward one of them, and in a moment those 
teeth of steel are tearing their way through its body and 
dividing it into boards and planks. Some of the wood 
is selected to form part of a building, but the best of it 
is taken to a furniture factory and put into a kiln, where 
it is dried by steam so that it will not shrink after it has 
been made into furniture. Then it is taken out and put 
through a great planing machine with many sharp knives, 
which makes it smooth. Next it is sawn off into different 
lengths and glued together to form table-tops. The legs 
are turned from thicker pieces and set into the frame 
which supports the top ; then the whole article is smoothed 
again with sandpaper, varnished and polished, thus com- 
pleting the table in every respect. It is next sent out, 
with other furniture, to the store where we bought it, 
and we follow it as it is carted from that place to our 
home and left in our dining-room. 

Thus, by meditation, we have become conversant with 
the various branches of industry necessary to convert a 
forest tree into a piece of furniture. We have seen all 
the machines and the men, and noted the peculiarities of 
the various places. We have even followed the life process 
whereby that tree has grown from a tiny seed, and have 
learned that back of seemingly very commonplace things 
there is a great and absorbingly interesting history. A 
pin; the match with which we light the gas; the gas 
itself; and the room in which that gas is burned — all 
have interesting histories, well worth learning. 



492 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Observation. 

One of the most important aids to the acpirant in his 
efforts is observation. Most people go through life blind- 
folded. Of them it is literally true that they 'Tiave eyes, 
and see not; . . . have ears, and hear not.'' Upon the 
part of the majority of humanity there is a deplorable 
lack of observation. 

Most people are, to some extent, excusable for this, be- 
cause their sight is not normal. Urban life has caused 
untold damage to the eyes. In the country the child 
learns to use the muscles of the eye to the full extent, 
relaxing or contracting them as required to see objects 
at considerable distances in the open, or close at hand 
inland about the house. But the city-bred child sees 
practically everything close at hand and the muscles of its 
eyes are seldom used to observe objects at any great 
distance, therefore that faculty is to a great extent lost, 
resulting in a prevalence of near-sightedness and other 
eye troubles. 

It is very important to one aspiring to the higher life 
that he be able to see all things about him in clear, 
definite outlines, and in full detail. To one suffering 
from defective sight, the use of glasses is like opening up 
a new world. Instead of the former mistiness, everything 
is seen clearly and definitely. If the condition of the 
sight requires the use of two foci, one should not be con- 
tent with having two pairs of glasses, one for near and' 
one for far seeing, thus necessitating frequent changes. 
Not only are the changes wearisome, but one is very apt 
to forget one pair when leaving home. The two foci can 
be had in one pair of bi-focal glasses, and such should be 
worn, to facilitate observation of the minutest details. 



ACQUIRING FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 493 

Discrimination. 

When the aspirant has attended to his eyesight, he 
should systematically observe everything and everybody, 
drawing conclusions from actions, to cultivate the faculty 
of logical reasoning. Logic is the best teacher in the 
Physical World, as well as the safest and surest guide in 
any world. 

While practicing this method of observation, it should 
always be kept in mind that it must be used only to 
gather facts and not for purposes of criticism, at least 
not wanton criticism. Constructive criticism, which 
points out defects and the means of remedying them, is 
the basis of progress; but destructive criticism, which 
vandalisticaly demolishes good and bad alike without aim- 
ing at any higher attainment, is an ulcer on the character 
and must be eradicated. Gossip and idle tale-bearing are 
clogs and hindrances. While it is not required that we 
shall say that black is white and overlook manifestly wrong 
conduct, criticism should be made for the purpose of help- 
ing, not to wantonly besmirch the character of a fellow- 
being because we have found a little stain. Eemembering 
the parable of the mote and the beam, we should turn our 
most unsparing criticism toward ourselves. None is so 
perfect that there is no room for improvement. The more 
blameless the man, the less prone he is to find fault and 
cast the first stone at another. If we point out faults 
and suggest ways for improvement, it must be done with- 
out personal feeling. We must always seek the good 
which is hidden in everything. The cultivation of this 
attitude of discrimination is particularly important. 

When the aspirant to first-hand knowledge has practiced 
concentration and meditation exercises for some time, and 



4S4 BOSKSUCIAX COSMOCOX : ZPTIOX 



h^ In t <Mi faJAy pgiAJent mtiwm, tliae is a stiJl lusher 
flip to be iafcm.' 

We hKve seen tibat eoncoitntin is : ' l: 
apoB a sm^ object. It is tiie negL> ~ 
a dear, objectn^ and l^^™^ "- "r^ : _- .^ 
wlddi we vi^ to acqnir-f ^~ _t. 

MeditatiGn is tiie exon. f^cby tiie bistoiT of tbe 

object of oar inresti^tioB is traced and, so to sit. enteied 
mio, to pkk oat of it cf^ij dned of erid^iee as to its 
re^ ' > tiie worid in ^cneiaL 

^- aeatal eMa ti feea deaL in the d ec p e Bi and most 
_ iimer ina^indde. ^^Ht " 'r. ^^ Hkt kad 
.irr. deeper and i!i:^r - igc of modal 

ir- 11 - lidi deals witL of ikimgs. 

7_ 1 „ : stage is '- i — : n- 

T^ :"~'-i: -'-^-- : - 7 1. -': ^^^ j^^ 

T . _ ': _ I - _3 ; - ~- --- .- —as 

^ „ i^iniL It is sDBiph' tiie boldb^ of 

TisflB and letting the aool 

i±. We : oiedT and rdaaed npon 

— 1 . t tbnnii^^hH' on tiie 

— --t win saidT come 



?ot ihe 



Life :^ 


Pnntnnpl;^ -- - ^ 




lifi^a^ 


editation ta^ 




Wben 


:iDB st^e 




^rv '- -' 


'lee sig/ 




'--- ^^ 




.wliidife^ 



ACQUIEIXG FIKST-HAND KKOWLEDGE 495 

that the parasite and its host are emanations from one 
and the same group spirit, for the higher we ascend in 
the invisible reahns, the fewer the separate and distinct 
forms, and the more completely the One Life predomi- 
nates, impressing upon the investigator the supreme fact 
that there is but the One Life — the ITniversal Life of 
God, in Whom it is an actual fact that "we live, and 
move, and have our being.:"' Mineral, plant, animal, and 
man — all, without exception — are manifestations of God, 
and this fact furnishes the true basis of brotherhood — a 
brotherhood which includes everything from the atom to 
the Sun, because all are emanations from God. Concep- 
tions of brotherhood based upon any other foundation, 
such as class-distinctions, Eace-affinity, similarity of occu- 
pation, etc., fall far short of this true basis, as the occult 
scientist clearly realizes when he sees the Universal Life 
flowing in all that exists. 

Adoratiox. 

When this height has been reached by Contemplation, 
and the aspirant has realized that he is in truth beholding 
God in the Life that permeates all things, there remains 
still to be taken the highest step. Adoration, whereby he 
unites himself with the Source of all things, reaching by 
that act the highest goal possible of attainment by man 
until the time when the permanent union takes place at 
the end of the great Day of Manifestation. 

It is the writer's opinion that neither the heights of 
Contemplation, nor the final step of Adoration can be 
attained without the aid of a teacher. The aspirant need 
never fear, however, that for want of a teacher he will 
be delayed in taking these steps : nor need he be concerned 
about looking for a teacher. All that is necessary for him 



496 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

to do is to start to improve himself, and to earnestly and 

persistently continue therein. In that way he will purify 

his v^ehicles. They will commence to shine in the inner 
Worlds, and cannot fail to attract the attention of the 
teachers, who are always watching for just such cases and 
are more than eager and glad to help those who, because 
of their earnest efforts to purify themselves, have won the 
right to receive help. Humanity is sorely in need of 
helpers who are able to work from the inner Worlds, 
therefore "seek and ye shall find," but let us not imagine 
that by going about from one professed teacher to an- 
other, we are seeking. "Seeking,"' in that sense of the 
word, will avail nothing in this dark world. We our- 
selves must kindle the light — the light which invariably 
radiates from the vehicles of the earnest aspirant. That 
is the star which will lead us to the teacher, or rather the 
teacher to us. 

The time required to bring results from the perform- 
ance of the exercises varies with each individual and is 
dependent upon his application, his stage in evolution and 
his record in the book of destiny; therefore no general 
time can be set. Some, who are almost ready, obtain re- 
sults in a few days or weeks; others have to work months, 
years, and even their whole life without visible results, 
yet the results will be there, and the aspirant who faith- 
fully persists will some day, in this or a future life, be- 
hold his patience and faithfulness rewarded and the inner 
Worlds open to his gaze, finding himself a citizen of 
realms where the opportunities are immeasurably greater 
than in the Physical World only. 

From that time — awake or asleep, through what men 
call life, and through what men call death — his conscious- 



ACQUIEING FIBST-HAND KNOWLEDGE 497 

ness will be unbroken; he will lead a consciously con- 
tinuous existence, having the benefit of all the conditions 
which make for more rapid advancement to ever-higher 
positions of trusty to be used in the unlifting of the race. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Constitution of the Earth : and Volcanic 

Eruptions. 

EVEN among occult scientists it is counted among 
the most difficult problems to investigate the mys- 
terious construction of the Earth. Every occult 
scientist knows how much easier it is to thoroughly and 
accurately investigate the Desire World and the Region 
of Concrete Thought and bring back the results into the 
Physical World than to investigate completely the secrets 
of our physical planet, because to do that fully, one must 
have passed through the nine lesser Mysteries and the first 
of the Great Initiations. 

Modern scientists know very little about this matter. 
So far as seismic phenomena are concerned, they very 
frequently change their theories, because they are constant- 
ly discovering reasons why their previous hypotheses were 
untenable. They have, with all their usual splendid care, 
investigated the very outside shell, but only to an insignifi- 
cant depth. As for volcanic eruptions, they try to under- 
stand them as they try to understand everything else, in 
a purely mechanical way, depicting the center of the Earth 
as a fiery furnace and concluding that the eruptions are 
caused by the accidental admission of water and in other 
similar ways. 

In a certain sense, their theories have some foundation, 
but in this case they are, as always, neglecting the spiritual 

498 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 499 

causes which to the occultist appear to be the true ones. 
To him, the world is far from being "dead." On the 
contrary, its every nook and crevice is permeated by spirit, 
which is the leaven that causes changes in and upon the 
planet. 

The different kinds of quartz, the metals, the disposition 
of the various strata — all have a much higher significance 
than the materialistic investigator has ever been able to 
grasp. To the occult scientist, the way in which these 
materials are arranged is full of meaning. On this sub- 
ject, as on every other, occult science stands in the same 
relation to modern science as physiology does to anatomy. 
Anatomy states with minute detail the exact position of 
every bone, muscle, ligament, nerve, etc., their relative 
positions to one another and so forth, but does not give 
any clue to the use of any one of the different parts of 
which the body is composed. Physiology, on the other 
hand, not only states the position and structure of every 
part of the body, but also tells their use in the body. 

To know the different strata of the Earth and the rela- 
tive positions of the planets in the sky without having 
also a knowledge of their use and meaning in the life and 
purpose of the Cosmos, is as useless as to know merely 
the positions of bones, nerves, etc., without understanding 
also their use in the functional economy of the body. 

The Number of the Beast. 

To the trained clairvoyant sight, of the Initiate of the 
various degrees of the Mysteries, the Earth appears built 
in strata, something like an onion, one layer or stratum 
outside another. There are nine such strata and the cen- 
tral core, making ten in all. These strata are revealed 
to the Initiate gradually. One stratum becomes accessi- 



500 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

ble to him at each Initiation, so that at the end of the 
nine lesser Initiations he is master of all the layers, but 
has not yet access to the secrets of the core. 

In ancient parlance these nine steps are called the 
"lesser Mysteries." They take the neophyte consciously 
through all that relates to his past evolution, through the 
activities of involuntary existence, so that he is able to 
understand the manner and meaning of the work he then 
performed unconsciously. He is shown how the present 
ninefold constitution (the threefold body, the threefold 
soul, and the threefold spirit) was brought into existence; 
how the great creative Hierarchies worked on the virgin 
spirit, awakening in it the Ego, helping it to form the 
body; and also the work he himself has done, to extract 
from the threefold body as much of the threefold soul 
as he*now possesses. One step at a time is he led through 
the nine steps of the lesser mysteries, the nine strata. 

This number nine is the root-number of our present 
stage of evolution. It bears a significance in our system 
that no other number does. It is the number of Adam, 
the life which commenced its evolution as Man, which 
reached the human stage during the Earth Period. In 
the Hebrew, as in the Greek, there are no numerals, but 
each letter has a numerical value. In Hebrew "Adam'^ 
is called "ADM.^' The value of "A" is 1; of "D," 4; 
and of "M," 40. If we add these figures, we get 
144+4+0=9 — ^the number of Adam, or humanity. 

If we turn from the Book of Genesis, which deals with 
the creation of man in the hoary past, to the Book of 
Eevelation, which deals with his future attainment, we 
find that the number of the beast which hinders is 6^6. 
Adding these figures, 6+6+6=18; and further, 1+8=9 
— we have again the number of humanity, which is itself 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 501 

the cause of all the evil which hinders its own progress. 
Going further^ to the point where the number of those 
who are to be saved is stated, we find it to be 144,000. 
Adding as before, 1+4+4+000=9 — again the number of 
humanity, showing that practically it will be saved in 
its totality, the number incapable of progress in our 
present evolution being negligible in comparison to the 
grand total, and even the few who fail are not lost, but 
will progress in a later scheme. 

The consciousness of the mineral and the plant is really 
unconsciousness. The first glimmering dawn of con- 
sciousness begins with the animal kingdom. We have 
seen also that according to the most modern classification, 
there are thirteen steps in the animal kingdom: three 
classes of Radiates ; three classes of Mollusks ; three classes 
of Articulates; and four classes of Vertebrates. 

If we regard ordinary man as a step by himself, and 
remember that there are thirteen Initiations from man 
to God, or from the time he commenced to qualify him- 
self for becoming a self-conscious Creative Intelligence, 
we have again the same number. Nine — 13+1+13=27; 
2+7=9. 

The number 9 is also hidden in the age of Christ 
Jesus, 33; 3x3=9, and in a similar manner in the 33 
degrees of Masonry. In olden times Masonry was a 
system of Initiation into the lesser Mysteries which, as 
we have seen, have 9 degrees, but the Initiates often wrote 
it as 33. Similarly we read of the 18th degree of the 
Rosicrucians, which was only a "blind" for the uniniti- 
ated, because there are never more than 9 degrees in any 
lesser Mystery, and the Masons of today have but very 
little of the occult ritual left in their degrees. 

We have also the nine months of gestation, during 



503 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

which the body is built up to its present efficiency; and 
there are in the body nine, perforations — two eyes, two 
nostrils, two ears, one mouth, and the two lower orifices. 

When the advancing man has passed through the nine 
lesser Initiations, gaining thereby entrance to all the 
layers of the Earthy entrance into the core is yet to be 
won. That is opened to him by the first of the four Great 
Initiations, in which he learns to know the mystery of 
the mind, that part of his being begun on Earth. When 
he is ready for the first Great Initiation he has developed 
his mind to the degree all men are destined to attain to 
at the end of the Earth Period. In that Initiation he is 
given the key to the next stage, and all work done by him 
after that will be such as humanity in general will do in 
the Jppiter Period, and does not concern us at present. 

After his first Great Initiation, he is an Adept. The 
second, third and fourth Initiations pertain to the stages 
of development to be arrived at by ordinary humanity 
in the Jupiter, Venus, and Vulcan Periods. 

These thirteen Initiations are symbolically represented 
in the Christ and His twelve Apostles. Judas Iscariot is 
the traitorous propensities of the lower nature of the 
neophyte. The beloved John is the Venus Initiation, and 
Christ Himself symbolizes the Divine Initiate of the 
Vulcan Period. 

In different schools of occult science the rites of Ini- 
tiation var}^ also their statement of the number of Initia- 
tions, but that is merely a matter of classification. It will 
be observed that such vague descriptions as can be given 
become more vague as one proceeds higher and higher. 
Wliere seven or more degrees are spoken of, almost nothing 
is (-:iid rf tlie sixth Initiation, and nothing whatever of 
the ones bevond. That is because of another division — 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 503 

the six steps of "Preparation," and the four Initiations 
which bring the candidate to the end of the Earth Period, 
to Adeptship. Then there must always be three more, 
if the philosophy of the school or society goes so far. The 
writer, however, knows of none but the Rosicrucians who 
have anything to say of the three Periods which preceded 
the Earth Period, save the bare statement that there were, 
such Periods. They are not brought very definitely into 
relationship with our present phase of existence, how- 
ever. Likewise, other occult teachings simply state that 
there will be three more schemes of evolution, but no 
particulars are given. Of course, under those circum- 
stances, the three last Initiations are not mentioned. 

Diagram 18 will give an idea of the arrangement of the 
Earth's strata, the central core being omitted to indicate 
more clearly the lemniscate formation of the currents in 
the ninth stratum. In the diagram the strata are repre- 
sented as being of equal thickness, though in reality some 
are much thinner than others. Beginning at the outside, 
they appear in the following order: 

(1) The Mineral Earth: This is the stony crust of 
the Earth, with which Geology deals as far as it is able 
to penetrate. 

(2) The Fluid Stratum: The matter of this stratum 
is more fluid than that of the outside crust, yet it is not 
watery, but rather more like a thick paste. It has the 
quality of expansion, like that of an exceedingly explosive 
gas, and is kept in place only by the enormous pressure 
of the outer crust. Were that removed, the whole of the 
fluid stratum would disappear in space with a tremendous 
explosion. These correspond to the Chemical and Etheric 
Regions of the Physical World. 

(3) Vapor Stratum: In the first and second strata 



504 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

there is really no conscious life. But in this stratum 
there is an ever-flowing and pulsating life, as in the 
Desire World surrounding and inter-penetrating our 
Earth. 

(4) Water Stratum: In this stratum are the germinal 
possibilities of all that exists upon the surface of the 
Earth. Here are the archetypal forces which are back 
of the group spirits; also the archetypal forces of the 
minerals^ for this is the direct physical expression of the 
Eegion of Concrete Thought. 

(5) Seed Stratum: Material scientists have been 
baffled in their efforts to discover the origin of life, how 
the first living things came forth from previously dead 
matter. 

In /eality, according to the occult explanation of evo- 
lution, the question should be how the "dead" things 
originated. The Life wus there previous to the dead 
Forms. It built its bodies from the attenuated, vaporous 
substance long before it condensed into the Earth's solid 
crust. Only when the life had left the forms could they 
crystallize and become hard and dead. 

Coal is but crystallized plant bodies; coral is also the 
crystallization of animal forms. The life leaves the forms 
and the forms die. Life never came into a form to awaken 
it to life. Life departed from the forms and the forms 
died. Thus did "dead" things come to be. 

In this fifth stratum is the primordial fount of life 
from which came the impetus that built all the forms on 
Earth. It corresponds to the Eegion of Abstract Thought. 

(6) Fiery Stratum: Strange as it may seem, this 
stratum is possessed of sensation. Pleasure and pain, 
sympathy and antipathy have here their effect on the 
Earth. It is generally supposed that under no possible 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 505 

circumstances can the Earth have any sensation whatever. 
The occult scientist, however, as he watches the harvesting 
of the ripe grain and the gathering of fruit from the trees 
in the autumn, or the plucking of flowers, knows the 
pleasure experienced by the Earth itself. It is similar to 
the pleasure felt by the cow when its bursting udders are 
being relieved by the sucking calf. The Earth feels the 
delight of having yielded nourishment for its progeny 
of Forms, this delight reaching its culmination in the 
harvest time. 

On the other hand, when plants are torn out by the 
roots, it is patent to the occult scientist that the Earth 
senses a sting of pain. For that reason he does not eat 
the plant-foods which grow under the Earth. In the first 
place they are full of the Earth-force and deficient in 
Sun-force, and are additionally poisoned by being pulled 
up by the roots. The only exception to this rule is that 
he may partake sparingly of the potato, which originally 
grew on the surface of the earth, and has only in com- 
paratively recent times grown beneath the soil. Occultists 
endeavor to nourish their bodies on fruits which grow 
toward the Sun, because they contain more of the higher 
Sun-force, and have not caused the Earth pain. 

It might be supposed that mining operations would 
be very painful to the Earth, but the reverse is the case. 
Every disintegration of the hard crust causes a sensation 
of relief and every solidification is a source of pain. 
Where a mountain torrent washes away the soil and carries 
it toward the plains, the earth feels freer. Where the 
disintegrated matter is again deposited, as in a bar out- 
side the mouth of a great river, there is a corresponding 
sense of uneasiness. 

As sensation in animals and men is due to their sepa- 



506 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

rate vital bodies, so the feeling of the Earth is particularly 
active in this sixth stratum, which corresponds to the 
World of Life Spirit. To understand the pleasure felt 
when mining operations are disintegrating the hard rock, 
and the pain when deposits gather, we must remember 
that the Earth is the dense body of a Great Spirit, and 
to furnish us with an environment in which we could 
live and gather experience, it had to crystallize this body 
into its present solid condition. 

As evolution proceeds, however, and man learns the les- 
sons pertaining to this acme of concretion, then Earth 
will become softer and its spirit more and more liberated. 
This is what Paul meant when he spoke of the whole 
creation groaning and travailing, waiting for the day of 
liberation. 

(7) Refracting Stratum: This part of the Earth 
corresponds to the World of Divine Spirit. There are, 
in occult science what are known as "The Seven Un- 
speakable Secrets." For those who are not acquainted 
with these secrets, or have not at least an inkling of their 
import, the properties of this stratum must seem particu- 
larly absurd and grotesque. In it all the forces which 
are known to us as the "Laws of Nature" exist as moral, 
or rather immoral forces. In the beginning of the con- 
scious career of man they were much worse than at 
present. But it appears that as humanity progresses in 
morals, these forces improve correspondingly; also that 
any lapse in morals has a tendency to unleash these 
Nature-forces and causes them to create havoc upon the 
Earth; while the striving for higher ideals makes them- 
less inimical to man. 

The forces in this stratum are thus, at any time, an 
exact reflection of the existing moral status of mankind. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 507 

From the occult point of view, the "hand of God" which 
smites a Sodom or a Gomorrah is not a foolish super- 
stition, for as surely as there is individual responsibility to 
the law of Consequence which brings to each person the 
just results of his deeds whether for good or evil, so is 
there also community and national responsibility, which 
brings upon groups of men corresponding results for their 
collective acts. Nature-forces are the general agents of 
such retributive justice, causing floods, or earthquakes, 
or the beneficent formation of oil or coal for various 
groups, according to their deserts. 

(8) Atomistic Stratum: This is the name given by the 
Rosicrucians to the eighth layer of the Earth, which is 
the expression of the World of Virgin Spirits. It seems 
to have the property of multiplying many fold the things 
in it; this applies, however, only to those things which 
have been definitely formed. An unshapen piece of wood, 
or an unhewn stone has no existence there, but upon any- 
thing which has been shaped, or has life and form (such 
as a flower or a picture), this stratum has the effect of 
multiplication to an astonishing degree. 

(9) Material Expression of the Earth-spirit: There 
are here lemniscate currents, which are intimately con- 
nected with the brain, heart, and sex-organs of the human 
race. It corresponds to the World of God. 

(10) Center of Being of the Earth-spirit: Nothing 
more can be said about this at present except that it is the 
ultimate seed-ground of all that is in and on Earth, and 
corresponds to the Absolute. 

From the sixth or fiery stratum to the surface of the 
Earth are a number of shafts in different places. The 
outer ends of these are called "volcanic craters." When 
the Nature-forces in the seventh stratum are unleashed so 



508 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

that they can express themselves through a volcanic out- 
burst, they set the (sixth) fiery stratum in motion and the 
agitation spreads outward to the mouth of the crater. The 
bulk of the material is taken from the substance of the 
second stratum, for that is the denser counterpart of the 
sixth stratum as the vital body, the second-vehicle of man, 
is the denser counterpart of the life Spirit, the sixth prin- 
ciple. This fluidic stratum, with its expansive and highly 
explosive quality, insuring an unlimited supply of material 
at the point of eruption. The contact with the outer 
atmosphere hardens that part of it which is not blown 
away into space, thus forming the lava and dust, until, as 
the blood from a wound congeals and stanches the flow, 
so the lava finally seals the aperture from the inner parts 
of -the Earth. 

As might be gathered from the fact that it is the re- 
flected immorality and anti-spiritual tendencies of man- 
kind which arouse the Nature-forces in the seventh 
stratum to destructive activity, it is generally profligate 
and degenerate peoples who succumb to these catastrophes. 
They, together with others whose destiny, self-generated 
under the law of Consequence, for various reasons, involves 
a violent death, are gathered from many lands by the 
superhuman forces, to the point where the eruption is to 
occur. To the thoughtful, the volcanic outbursts of Ve- 
suvius, for instance, will afford corroboration of this state- 
ment. 

A list of these outbursts during the last 2,000 years 
shows that their frequency has been increasing with the 
growth of materialism. In the last sixty years, especially, 
in the ratio that materialistic science has grown arrogant 
in its absolute and sweeping denial of everything spiritual, 
have the eruptions increased in frequency. While there 



r>.A^»Aw> ift 



COM?)TlTUTIOM OF THE EARTH 



,ce-t'^^^-:jA^^5^-^^^2ftTjyj 




510 KOSICKUCIAN COSMO CONCEPTION 

were but six eruptions in the first 1,000 years after Christ, 
the last five have taken place within 51 3^ears, as will be 
shown. 

The first eruption during the Christian Era was that 
which destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, 
in which the elder Pliny perished, A. D. 79. The other 
eruptions followed in A. D. 203, 472, 512, 652, 982, 1036, 
1158, 1500, 1631, 1737, 1794, 1822, 1855, 1872, 1885, 
1891, 1906. 

In the first thousand years, there were six eruptions ; in 
the second thousand there have been twelve, the last five 
occurring in a period of 51 years, as before stated. 

Of the entire number of 18 eruptions, the first nine oc- 
curred in the so-called "dark ages,^' that is to say, the 1600 
years during which the Western World was dominated by 
what are commonly termed the "heathen," or by the 
Koman Church. The remainder have taken place in the 
last three hundred years, during which the advent and rise 
of Modern Science, with its materializing tendencies, has 
driven almost the last vestige of spirituality to the wall, 
particularly in the last half of the 19th Century. There- 
fore the eruptions for that period comprise nearly one- 
third of the total number that have taken place in our Era. 

To counteract this demoralizing ■ influence, a great deal 
of occult information has been given out during that time 
by the Elder Brothers of Wisdom, who are ever working 
for the benefit of humanity. It is thought that by giving 
out this knowledge and educating the few who will still 
receive it, it may be possible to stem the tide of material- 
ism, which otherwise may bring about very serious conse- 
quences to its advocates who, having so long denied the 
existence of the spiritual, may be unable to find their bal- 
ance when they discover that, though still living, they have 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 511 

been deprived of the dense body. Such persons may meet 
a fate too sad to contemplate with equanimity. One of the 
causes of the dread "white plague" is this materialism, 
not traceable to the present incarnation perhaps, but the 
result of previous materialistic beliefs and affirmations. 

We have spoken of the demise of the elder Pliny, at the 
time of the destruction of Pompeii. It is interesting to 
follow the fate of such a scientist, not so much for the 
sake of that particular individual as for the light it throws 
upon the manner in which the memory of Nature is read 
by the occult scientist, how the impressions are made upon 
it, and the effect of past traits upon present tendencies. 

When a man dies, his dense body disintegrates, but the 
sum total of its forces can be found in the seventh or re- 
flecting stratum of the Earth, which may be said to con- 
stitute a reservoir in which, as forces, past forms are stored. 
If, knowing the time of the death of a man, we search 
this reservoir, it is possible to find his form there. Not 
only is it stored in the seventh stratum, but the eighth or 
atomistic stratum multiplies it, so that any one type may 
be reproduced and modified by others. Thus it is used 
over and over again in the formation of other bodies. The 
brain-tendencies of such a man as Pliny the elder may 
have been reproduced a thousand years afterwards, and 
have been partly the cause of the present crop of mate- 
rialistic scientists. 

There is still much for modern, material scientists to 
learn and to unlearn. Though they fight to the last ditch 
what they sneeringly term the "illusionary ideas" of the 
occult scientist, they are being compelled to acknowledge 
their truth and accept them one by one, and it is only a 
matter of time when they will have been compelled to ac- 
cept them all. 



512 EOSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

Mesmer, who was sent by the Elder Brothers, was worse 
than ridiculed, but when materialists had changed the 
name of the force discovered by him, calling it "hypno- 
tism" instead of "mesmerism," it at once became "scien- 
tific." 

Twenty years ago Madame Blavatsky, a faithful pupil 
of Eastern Masters, said that the Earth had a third move- 
ment, in addition to the two producing day and night and 
the seasons. She pointed out that the inclination of the 
Earth's axis is caused by a movement which, in due time, 
brings the north pole to where the equator is now and still 
later, to the place now occupied by the south pole. This, 
she said, was known to the ancient Egyptians, the famous 
planisphere at Dendera showing that they had records of 
three such revolutions. These statements, in common with 
the whole of her unexcelled work, "The Secret Doctrine," 
were hooted at. 

A few years ago, an astronomer, Mr. G. E. Sutcliffe, of 
Bombay, discovered and mathematically demonstrated that 
Laplace had made a mistake in his calculations. The dis- 
covery and rectification of this error confirmed by mathe- 
matical demonstration the existence of the third motion of 
the Earth, as claimed by Madame Blavatsky. It also af- 
forded an explanation of the theretofore puzzling fact that 
tropical plants and fossils are found in the polar regions, 
as such a movement would necessarily produce, in due 
time, tropical and glacial periods on all parts of the Earth, 
corresponding to its changed position in relation to the 
Sun. Mr. Sutcliffe sent his letter and demonstrations to 
Nature, but that Journal refused to publish them, and 
when the author made public the discovery by means of a 
pamphlet, he drew upon himself an appalling storm of 
vituperation. However, he is an avowed and a deep stu- 



CONSTITUTION OF THE EARTH 513 

dent of "The Secret Doctrine/' and that explains the hos- 
tile reception accorded his discovery and its inevitable 
corollaries. 

Later, however, a Frenchman, not an astronomer, but a 
mechanician, constructed an apparatus demonstrating the 
ample possibility of the existence of such a movement. The 
apparatus vras exhibited at the Louisiana Purchase Ex- 
hibition at Saint Louis, and was warmly endorsed by M. 
Camille Flammarion, as worthy of investigation. Here 
was something concrete, something "mechanical," and the 
editor of Tlie Monist, though he described the inventor as 
a man laboring somewhat under "mystic illusions" (be- 
cause of his belief that the ancient Egyptians knew of this 
third motion), nevertheless magnanimously overlooked that 
feature of the case and said that he had not lost faith in 
M. Beziau's theory on that account. He published an ex- 
planation and an essay by M. Beziau, wherein the motion 
and its effects upon the surface of the Earth were described 
in terms similar to those used by Madame Blavatsky and 
Mr. Sutcliife. M. Beziau is not definitely "billed" as an 
occultist, therefore his discovery may be countenanced. 

Many instances might be cited showing how occult in- 
formation has been corroborated later by material science. 
One of them is the atomistic theory, which is advocated in 
the Greek philosophies and later in "The Secret Doc- 
trine." It was "discovered" in 1897, by Professor Thom- 
son. 

In Mr. A. P. Sinnett's valuable work, "The Growth of 
the Soul," published in 1896, the author stated that there 
are two planets beyond the orbit of Neptune, only one of 
which, he thought, would be discovered by modern astron- 
omers. In Nature for August, 1906, the statement is made 
that Professor Barnard, through the 36-inch Lick refrac- 



gl4 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTIO:^^ 

tor, had discovered such a planet in 1892. There had been 
no mistake about it, yet he waited fourteen years before he 
announced his discovery ! One need not be concerned 
about that, however. The main point is that the planet is 
there, and that Mr. Sinnett's book said so ten years before 
Professor Barnard^s claim to prior discovery. Probably, 
previous to 1906 the announcement of the newly discovered 
planet might have tended to disarrange some popularly 
accepted theory ! 

There are many such theories. The Copernican theory 
is not altogether correct, and there are many facts that 
cannot be accounted for by. the lauded Nebular theory 
alone. Tycho Brahe, the famous Danish astronomer, re- 
fused to accept the Copernican theory. He had a very good 
reason for remaining true to the Ptolemaic theory because, 
as he said, by it the movements of the planets figured out 
correctly, while with the Copernican theory, it is neces- 
sary to use a table of corrections. The Ptolemaic system 
is correct from the standpoint of the Desire World, and it 
has points that are needed in the Physical World. 

By many the statements made in the foregoing pages 
will be considered fantastic. Be it so. Time will bring to 
all a knowledge of the facts herein set forth. This book 
is only for the few who, having freed their minds from the 
shackles of orthodox science and religion, are ready to 
accept this until they have proven it wrong. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Christian Rosenkreuz and the Order of the Eosy 

Cross. 

MANY centuries have rolled by since the birth, as 
Christian Rosenkreuz, of the individual whom we 
know and honor by that name — the Founder of 
the Most Holy Order of The Rosicrucians. 

Though by many outsiders his existence is regarded as 
a myth, it is nevertheless true that his birth marked the 
beginning of a new epoch in the spiritual life of the west- 
ern World. That particular Ego has also been in contin- 
uous incarnation ever since, in one or another of the Eu- 
ropean countries, taking a new body as his successive ve- 
hicles outlived their usefulness, or circumstances rendered 
it expedient that he change the scene of his activities. 
Moreover, he is incarnate today, — an Initiate of high de- 
gree; an active and potent factor in all affairs of the West 
— although unknown to the world. 

As are all such individuals, he is a representative of the 
Central Conclave of the Elder Brothers of humanity. His 
mission was and is to show the spiritual significance of 
all scientific discoveries, thus counteracting as far as pos- 
sible the deadening influence of materialistic science, 
which, for reasons previously given, the Elder Brothers 
dread more than any other manifestation of human 
activity. 

To this end he labored with the Alchemists centuries 

. 515 



516 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

before the advent of modern science. He, through an in- 
termediary, inspired the now-mutilated works of Bacon. 
Jacob Boehme and others received through him the in- 
spiration which makes their works so spiritually illuminat- 
ing. In the w^orks of the immortal Goethe and the master- 
pieces of Wagner the same influence meets us. All un- 
daunted spirits who refuse to be fettered by either orthodox 
science or orthodox religion, who fling away the husks and 

penetrate to the spiritual kernel regardless of vilification 
or of flattery, draw their inspiration from the same foun- 
tain as did and does the great spirit which animated Chris- 
tian Eosenkreuz. 

His very name is an embodiment of the manner and the 
means by wdiich the present-day man is transformed into 
thS Divine Superman. This symbol, 

''Christian Eosen Kreuz" 
[The] Christian Eose Cross, 

shows the end and aim of human evolution ; the road to be 
traveled, and the means whereby that end is gained. The 
black cross, the twining green stem of the plant, the thorns, 
the blood-red roses — in these is hidden the solution of the 
World Mystery — Man^s past evolution, present constitu- 
tion, and particularly the secret of his future development. 
It hides from the profane, but reveals to the Initiate the 
more clearly how he is to labor day by day to make for 
himself that choicest of all gems, the Philosopher's Stone 
— more precious than the Kohinoor ; nay, than the sum of 
all earthly wealth! It reminds him how mankind, in its 
ignorance, is hourly wasting the actual concrete material 
that might be used in the formation of this priceless 
treasure. 



CHRISTIAN ROSENKREUZ 517 

To keep him steadfast and true through every adversity, 
the Eose-eross holds aloft as an inspiration the glorious 
consummation in store for him that overcometh, and 
points to the Christ as the Star of Hope, the "first fruits," 
Who wrought this marvelous Stone while incarnate in the 
body of Jesus. 

The Order which was founded by Christian Eosenkreuz 
and the teachings which have been given to its members by 
the Founder throughout the centuries which have passed 
since its inception, have been and are among the most mys- 
terious and secret in the Western World. All so-called 
"discoveries" of the past which have professed to reveal 
the Eosicrucian secrets, have been either fraudulent, or 
the result of treachery upon the part of some outsider who 
may, accidentally or otherwise, have overheard fragments 
of conversation, unintelligible to all but those who have 
the key. It is possible to live under the same roof and on 
terms of the closest intimacy w4th an Initiate of any 
school, yet his secret will always remain hidden in his 
breast until the friend has reached the point where he can 
become a Brother Initiate. The revealing of the secrets 
does not depend upon the Will of the Initiate, but upon 
the qualifications of the aspirant. 

Such a "leak" as mentioned above occurred in the be- 
ginning of the 19th Century and caused considerable dis- 
cussion in Germany, even in the official papers, concerning 
the Philosopher's Stone. 

The Reichs-Anzeiger said, in one article : "Yes, there is 
a Philosopher's Stone. It is an Elixir of Life. It is all, 
and much more than has ever been claimed for it. More- 
over, most people have had it in their hands often, but 
know it not !" 

How absolutely and unqualifiedly true that is, j^et at the 



518 ROSICEUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

same time how thoroughly misleading, none can guess save 
those who know the secret, but even the eavesdropping 
traitor who had listened and overheard the words spoken 
among the brethren, could not have profited thereby. The 
language in which esoteric truths are couched is always 
such that, even though overheard and repeated by the unin- 
itiated, the secret still remains hidden from all but those 
who already know. 

To those who are entitled to the knowledge, many a 
mystery will reveal itself "between the lines" in this work, 
suggested but not spoken, for to reveal them, save from lip 
to ear to worthy persons and under proper circumstances, 
would be a grievous breach of faith, not to be contemplated. 

On the other hand, the way to qualify to be entrusted 
wilj.1 such knowledge is shown clearly and plainly. To 
none who will live the life described in the foregoing pages, 
will the secret remain a secret long. 

That this work may be the means of guiding some thirst- 
ing souls into the presence of the Divine Teachers is the 
fervent pra3^er with which the author sends it forth into 
the world. It does not quote autJiorities, but it has aimed 
on every page to appeal to the reason of the student, that 
having satisfied the head, it may reach the heart and help 
him onward on the path of attainment, in an all-round, 
balanced, safe and sane development of his spiritual pow- 
ers, so that his faith may be swallowed up in Tcnoivledge 
dedicated to the service of Humanity. 

"Hold fast that which is Good." 

— Paul, 



THE MISSION OF THE ROSICEUCIAN FELLOW- 
SHIP. 

God is Light — if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, 
we have Fellowship with one another. — 1st John 1:5-7. 

The Eosicrucian Fellowship is not a sect or religious 
organization. It is a School of Thought. It does not aim 
at proselyting, but rather to make the Christian Teachings 
a living factor in the land by encouraging people to remain 
with their churches while giving them explanations which 
time has obscured. To such as have already severed their 
connections with the church it offers a temporary anchorage 
until they become aroused anew to a deeper understanding 
of the uplifting power and the beauty of the Christian 
teaching. 

There was a time, even as late as Greece, when Religion, 
Art and Science were taught unitedly in the Mystery- 
temples. But it was necessary to the better development 
of each that they should separate for a time. 

Religion held sole sway in the so-called "dark ages." 
During that time it bound both Science and Art hand and 
foot. Then came the period of the Eenaissance and Art 
came to the fore in all its branches. Eeligion was strong 
as 3^et, however, and Art was only too often prostituted 
in the service of Eeligion. Last came the wave of modern 
Science, and with masterful hand it has subjugated the 
Eeligion that once dominated it. Science has freed Art 
from its bondage, and both are following undesirable lines 
in some of their branches, on the same principle that a 

519 



520 EOSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

boy just out of school is more ungovernable than at any 
other time. 

It was a detriment to the world when Eeligion shackled 
Science. Ignorance and Superstition caused untold woe, 
nevertheless man cherished a lofty spiritual idea then; he 
hoped for a higher and better life. It is infinitely more 
disastrous that Science is killing Eeligion, for now even 
Hope, the only gift of the gods left in Pandora's box, 
may vanish before M at ei'iaUsni and Agnosticism. 

Such a state cannot continue. Eeaction must set in. If 
it does not. Anarchy will rend the Cosmos. To avert a 
calamity Religion, Science and Art must reunite in a 
higher expression of the Good, the True and the Beautiful 
than obtained before the separation. 

Coming events cast their shadows before, and when the 
Great Leaders of humanity saw the tendency towards ultra- 
materialism which is now rampant in the Western World, 
they took certain steps to counteract and transmute it at 
the auspicious time. They did not wish to kill the budding 
Science as the latter has strangled Eeligion, for they saw 
the ultimate good which will result when an advanced 
Science has again become the co-worker of Eeligion. 

A spiritual Eeligion, however, cannot blend with a ma- 
terialistic Science any more than oil can mix with water. 
Therefore steps were taken to spiritualize Science and make 
Eeligion scientific. 

In the thirteenth century a high spiritual teacher, hav- 
ing the symbolical name Christian Eosenkreuz — Christian : 
Eose : Cross — appeared in Europe to commence that work. 
He founded the mysterious Order of Eosicrucians with 
tbe object of throwing occult light upon the misunderstood 
Christian Eeligion and to explain the mystery of Life and 



EOSICEUCIAN FELLOWSHIP 521 

Being from the scientific standpoint and in harmony with 
Religion. 

As said, Science was to be led, not shackled, and the 
works of Paracelsus, Commenius, Helmont, Bacon, Boehme, 
and Fludd are all attempts at awakening interest in the 
life-side of the Universe, of showing that Form and Matter 
are not all. 

In the past centuries the Eosicrucians have worked in 
secret, but now the time has come for giving out a definite, 
logical and sequential teaching concerning the origin, evo- 
lution and future development of the world and man, show- 
ing both the spiritual and the scientific aspect; a teaching 
which makes no statements that are not supported by 
reason and logic. Such is the teaching promulgated by the 
Eosicrucian Fellowship. It satisfies the mind by giving 
clear explanations and neither begs nor evades questions. 
It holds out a reasonable solution to all mysteries — But, 
and this is a very important ^'But," The Eosicrucian 
Christianity does not regard the intellectual understanding 
of God and the Universe as an end in itself. Far from it. 
The greater the intellect, the greater the danger of its 
misuse. Therefore the scientific teaching is only given in 
order that man may believe and start to live the religious 
life which alone can bring true Fellowship. 

In the Eosicrucian Fellowship the Elder Brothers distin- 
guish between three classes: First, Students, those who 
are merely studying the Philosophy. 

Second, Prohationers, who are students, but who wish to 
fit themselves for service and aspire to first-hand knowl- 
edge. To the latter, the General or Local Secretary will 
furnish a pledge wherein the aspirant promises himself 
to faithfully perform two specific exercises, to keep a 
daily record of his performance, and send that record 



522 ROSICRUCIAN COSMO-CONCEPTION 

monthly to headquarters. The term of probation is at 
least a year and has for its purpose to test the earnestness 
and persistence of the aspirant and to give him the oppor- 
tunity to purify himself, before talcing up the more direct 
methods of training incident to discipleship. The report 
is also designed to be a help to the aspirant in the per- 
formance of the exercises. It is human nature to want to 
make as good a showing as possible and the aspirant will 
thus try to do better, knowing that his work is being 
inspected. 

Third, Disciples, who have completed the term of proba- 
tion, been accepted by the Elder Brothers and given indi- 
vidual instruction. Tuition is free. 

The Eosicrucian Fellowship has no officers except a 
General Secretary, who is merely a channel for the dissemi- 
nation of the teaching. 

Anyone may enroll as a student of Eosicrucian Chris- 
tianity by writing to the General Secretary, who will fur- 
nish the necessary facilities for study, or, wherever possible, 
students may band together and form a local Fellowship 
center, a local school, selecting one of their number as 
local secretary to correspond with the General Secretary. 

There are no charters, initiation fees, dues or other 
financial aspects incident to organizations. The expenses 
incidental to the promulgation of Eosicrucian Christianity 
are borne by voluntary subscriptions, which may be sent 
to General Secretary Eosicrucian Fellowship, P. 0. Box 
1802, Seattle, Wash. 



INDEX 

A Word to the Wise — The attitude of ''a little child in search 
for truth — 5; scepticism and credulity versus the open mind — 6; 
**now we see through a glass darkly — 8. 

Introduction — Buddha the Light of Asia; but Christ the 
* * Light of the World ' ' — Esoteric Christianity the coming World- 
Eeligicn — the struggle between head and the heart — 17; common 
ground on which they may meet — 18; Riddle of life and Death 
may be solved by all, no special gifts — 19; cost of first-hand 
knowledge not gold — certain practices open the way — Knowledge 
determines the value of testimony; ignorance has no claim to con- 
sideration — 20; how to attain to knoAvleclge — 21; "the trut-h shall 
make you free" — 23. 

CHAPTER I. 

The Visible and the Invisible Worlds — Why some Worlds are 
invisible to us — 24; the mistake of scepticism and credulity illus- 
trated — 25; why varied accounts of the invisible Worlds are val- 
uable — 26; the reason for occult investigations — physical mani- 
festations of invisible causes — frost-flowers and ice crystals — 27; 
illustration of the comparative reality of the visible and invisible 
Worlds — 28; The Chemical Region— vrhy there are seven Worlds — 
29; all Forms composed of the same chemical substance — 30; the 
life determines the kingdom — the forces active in decaying forms 
— 31; feeling not merely response to impact — 32; the purpose of 
the Physical World and the mistake of undervaluing it — 33; The 
Etheric Region — comparison of methods of material and occult 
science — 34 ; Chemical Ether and assimilation — 35 ; Life Ether 
and propagation — Light Ether; its action in warm and cold- 
blooded animals — 36; the source of color — Reflecting Ether and 
the memory of nature — 37; psychometry — 38. 

The Desire World — desire matter the basis of action — 39; not 
iiner physical matter — not inert but living — 40; clairvoyance use- 
less without training — 41; the twin forces and the twin feelings 
— 42; **A lie is both murder and suicide in the Desire World" — 

523 



524 INDEX 

43; Christ and the dead dog — sense-perception distinct from feel- 
ing — 44 ; the twin feelings — 45 ; Illustration of the operation of 
the twin forces and feelings — 46; The cause of remorse — 47; The 
World of Thought — its two main divisions — 48; archetypes of 
form, vitality and desire — 50; the region of archetypal Forces, 
the "crux" or focus — explanations of diagram 1 and 2 — 51; 
diagram 1 showing the comparative reality of the material and 
spiritual Worlds — 52; illustration of sand and sponge to show the 
relation of the seven Worlds, one to another — 53; diagram 2, the 
Seven Worlds — 54; The scope of the World of Life Spirit and 
of the World of Divine Spirit — 55. 

CHAPTEE II. 

The Four Kingdoms — comparing man to the mineral, to the 
plant — 56; and to the animal in regard to faculties — the necessity 
of separate vehicles for each World — 57; chemical ether in the 
mineral — difference in composition of the vital bodies of plant, 
anypial and man — 58; the vital body larger than the dense body — 
59; of opposite sex to the dense body; the reason for the period- 
ical flow and tears in women — 60; the points of the vital body 
and the prickly pain when a hand goes to sleep — 61 ; the effect 
of hypnosis, anaesthetics and materialization on the vital body — ■ 
62; the vital fluid, the spleen and paralysis — the reason for con- 
tagion — 63 ; why pain is felt in an amputated limb — 64 ; the Earth 
feels pleasure and pain — 65; the difference in construction of ani- 
mal and human desire bodies — 66; the form of the desire body — • 
the sense centers different in involuntary and trained clairvoyants 
— 67; an easy method of distinguishing one from the other — the 
desire body and the liver — 68 ; currents directed inwards in cold- 
blooded, but outwards in warm-blooded animals — difference be- 
tween Ego and a group-spirit — 69; liver and *' liver" — thought- 
induction and domestic animals — 70; why animals of the same 
species are alike, but each man a species — 71; the group spirit 
guides its species from without — 72; the vehicles of the Ego com- 
pared to the snail and its house — diagram 3, showing the vehicles 
of the four kingdoms — 73; diagram 4, showing consciousness of 4 
kingdoms — 74; the descent of the spirit and consciousness — 75 j 
the dense body man's most perfect vehicle — 76; why animals are 
clairvoyant — 77; illustration of difference between group spirit 



INDEX 525 

and Ego — 78; what animal instinct is — 79; why man's un-wisdom 
is higher than the neverf ailing instinct of animals — 80; distinc- 
tion between a group spirit and the separate virgin spirit in its 
charge — 81; more about the similar appearance, tastes, etc., of 
animals as contrasted with the peculiarities of each human being 
— 84; the life-streams symbolized in the cross — 85; why man alone 
can speak, why parrots and starlings can imitate, why only a 
human form can be the habitat of an Ego — 86. 

CHAPTER III. 

Man and the Method of Evolution^ — the three worlds — 87 ; the 
seven vehicles — 88; thought transmission from within — 89; differ- 
ent phases — 90; subconscious mind — 91; superconscious mind, 
why women are intuitive — 92; sleep and restoration — 93; the 
cause of dreams — 94; diagram 5, the three-fold spirit, the three- 
fold body and the three-fold soul — 95; the method of soulgrowth 
— 96; Death separates the vehicles — the seed-atom — 97; why the 
heart stops — the silver cord — diagram 5i/^ — 98; Dr. McDougall 
did not weigh the soul — 99; have animals souls? — 100; how we 
torture our dying friends — 101 ; the panorama of the past life, its 
length and cause of its termination — 102; why post-mortem exam- 
ination, embalming and incineration hurt the newly dead — why 
aged people die easier than younger — 103; the effect of suicide — 
why existence in the desire World is purgative — 104; the tortures 
of Tantalus — 105; no avenging Deity but law of nature purgative 
agent — 106; length of stay in purgatory — 107; how exact suffer- 
ing is automatically meted out — 108; the importance of the after 
death panorama — 109 ; the great benefit of purgatory, why every 
evil act is a free-will act — 110; a scientific way of obtaining the 
forgiveness of sins, the most important teaching of this book — 
111; The Borderland, the good-living materialist's hell — 112; The 
First Heaven — 113; Sir Launfal's Vision a lesson in giving — 115; 
the Summerland — the New Jerusalem — 116; The children in the 
first heaven, their beautiful play and important lesson — 117; lam- 
entation at deathbed a cause of infant mortality — 118 ; why music 
is so elusive yet so potent — 119; The Second Heaven — 121; the 
Great Silence and the Music of the Spheres — 122 ; the keynote of 
the Earth — 123; spiritual alchemy the method of amalgamating 
the soul and spirit — 124; preparing the future environment — can 



hie INDEX 

a thought knock a man down! — 125; man an apprentice of the 
creative hierarchies — music, mathematics and the semi-circular 
canals in the ear — 126; the spiritual cause of what seems heredity 
— 127; why we cannot get a better body on earth than we built 
in heaven — 128; Tlie Third Hcav€7i and the panorama of a new 
life — 129; wherein and why it differs from after death Pano- 
rama — 130; the blessing of pain — 131; the necessity for Eebirth — 
132; Preparations for a new birth — 133; The Eeeording Angels 
— Epigenesis — 135 ; the Ego 's liberty of choice — ' * ripe ' ' causa- 
tion — 136; what causes fertilization of the ovum — 137; the Ego's 
work on new body — 138; Birth of the Dense Body — 139; Birth of 
the vital Body — 141; Birth of the desire body — the mind — 142; — 
the blood and the thymus gland as affecting individuality — 143; — 
temper a source of obsession — 144; Goethe's Faust on the blood — 
145. 

CHAPTEE IV. 

Eebirth and the Law of Consequence — Three theories of life 
— 148; why materialism and theology conflict with nature — 149; 
the plan of salvation inadequate, 151; Eebirth harmonizes with 
evolution — 152; its ethical necessity — 153; the way of emancipa- 
tion — 154; Genius and heredity — 155; The law of Attraction — 
156; death does not pay all — 157; Eebirth not transmigration — 
158; Oliver W. Holmes on emancipation — 159; Cosmic Law gov- 
erning frequency of incarnation — 160; the stars, the clock of 
destiny — 161; impossibility of escaping ripe causation illustrated 
— 162; where ignorance is bliss — 164; Wine, the lethal drinTc, as 
a factor in Evolution, why Christ's first miracle was changing 
water to wine — 169; Christ forbade the teaching of rebirth tem- 
porarily — 170; a well authenticated story of a remembered past 
life— 172. 

CHAPTEE V. 

The Eelation of Man to God — Confusion of terms a source of 
misunderstanding— 177; diagram giving definite terms — 178; 
Planetary Genii— 182. 

CHAPTEE YI. 

The Scheme of Evolution — God a composite Being — 183; In- 
volution, Evolution and Epigenesis — 185; form the negative pole 
of Spirit — 186; how the states of matter are created — 188; steps 



INDEX 527 

in evolution of consciousness — 189; the importance of having this 
knowledge — 191; diagram 7, the Saturn Period — 193. 

CHAPTEE VII. 

The Path ©f Evolution — 194; Eevolutions and Cosmic Nights 
— 195 ; diagram 8, showing hoAv the life-wave travels from globe 
to globe during the 7 Periods — 197. 

CHAPTEE VIII. 

The Work of Evolution — Ariadne 's thread — 201 ; the practical 
value of knowing the World-Mystery — 202; atmospheric conditions 
of the Saturn Period — 204; how Saturn destroyed his children — 
206; The Lords of the Flame, the divine spirit and dense body of 
the Virgin Spirits — 207; Eecapitulation — 208; The Sun Period — 
209; climatic conditions — reconstruction of dense body acquisi- 
tion of vital body — 210; The Lords of Wisdom and the CheruMm 
— 211 ; the life spirit — 212 ; climatic condition of the Moon Pe- 
riod — 213; the Lords of Individuality and the desire body — 214; 
the Seraphim and the human spirit — 215; losing ^ZZ-consciousness 
to gain jSe^Z-consciousness — 216; mineral, plant and animal stages 
of consciousness — 217; why planets are differentiated — 218; origin 
of honeymoon trips and the migrations of birds — 219; The life 
Cycle— 221; 12 Creative Hierarchies — 222. 

CHAPTEE IX. 

Stragglers and Newcomers — 223; Adaptability the bone and 
sinew of progress — 224; list of classes at the beginning of the 
Moon Period — 226; Moon-existence and the gill-clefts of the em- 
bryo— 228; the meaning of ''salvation'' — 229; diagram 10, the 
different classes at the beginning of the Earth Period — 230. 

CHAPTEE X. 

-The Earth Period — Worlds denser than the physical — 233; 
genesis of the 4 elements — a fifth element — 234; a diA-ision in 
some desire bodies — 235; gastric juices the subconscious chemistry 
of the Ego — 237; the blood manipulated by Ego — 239; The Lords 



528 I^'I>EX 

of Form, the Angela and the vital bodv — 1!40: voluntary and in- 
voluntarr clairvoyants — 241: the Archangels and the desire body 
— 242; Eest Periods between Eevolutions — 243; why there must 
be Cosmic Nights, Best Periods and Death — 244; the present revo- 
lution — 245. 

CHAPTER XI. 

GE^"ZSIS OF OTR Soi_\r. System — Chaos and the raison d'etre of 
planets — 246; chaos the basis of Cosmos and exists now as the 
basis of progress — 249; Chaos and Gas — Shakespeare and Bacon — 
251: Chaos. Cosmos. Genius and Epigenesis — 252; The Seven 
Spirits before the Throne — 253; The Seven Colors — the Four 
Kingdoms — diagram — 254; the shape of the body and conscious- 
ness — 255: Man's past, present and future form diagram 12 — 256; 
the evolution of a sun — 25S : the Martian canals — 259. 

CHAPTEE XII. 

• 

EvoLunox ox the Earth — The Polarian Epoch — our first 
earthly body — 261; the third eye an organ of feeling — ^perfection 
of sense organs — 262. 

The Hyperborean Epoch — the Earth was thrown off from the 
Sun — 263; Crystallization always starts at the pole — 264; the 
Moon, the Eighth sphere — 264 ; effects of the Sun and Moon forces 
on man — 265. 

TTie Lemurian Epoch — The birth of the individual — 266; sep- 
aration into sexes — 267 ; Mars and red warm blood — 268 ; sex force 
the builder of brain and larynx — 269: the races and their leaders 
— 270; the Lords of Venus and Mercury — 271; the first Initiates 
Kings by the grace of God — 272; Mercury, the liberator — 273; 
ancient Lemuria — 275; building the eye — 276; neither birth nor 
death — 277: Adam knew his wife — the language of Lemuria — 
278; education for boys and for girls in Lemuria — 279; what 
were the initiations in lemuria? — 2S0; Lemurian perceived the 
inner qnaUties of things rather than the outward shape — 281 ; 
Innocenee not virtue, virtue predicates knowledge and choice — 
282. 

The Fall — the Angels and propagation — ^planetary lines of force 
and painless parturition — 2S3; "Will, Imagination and sex force — 
284; comparison of Angels' love and human love — 285 j Lucifer — 



INDEX 529 

286; the origin of pain, sickness and death — 287; free-will, the 
recompense — 288 ; evolving life and degenerating forms — 289 ; lack 
of feeling in older races — 290. 

The Atlaniean Epoch — the foggy atmosphere — 291; description 
of Atlantean — 292; higher vehicles and dense body not concentric 
in early part, the veil of Isis — ^why there are animal prodigies — 
293; The Bhmoahah — genesis of memory and language — words 
and their power — 294; The TJaiatlis — memory as a factor in the 
life of the community — the origin of leaders — the germ of royalty 
— the origin of ancestor worship — 295; the Toltecs — origin of mon- 
archy and hereditary succession — why it was right then to honor 
men for the deeds of their ancestors — educational methods — the 
value of experience — origin of nations — 296; initiate kings — 
abuse of power the germ of destruction — The Original Turanians 
— black magic and oppression of the people — 297. 

The Original Semites — the origin of thought — the *' seed-race ' ' 
for the present Aryan races — the cost of the faculty of thought — 
298; the present limit of thought-power — a glimpse at the future 
— why science cannot now create * * Life ' ' — benefit of the loss 
of spiritual power — 299; the law of the cost of progress — 300; the 
migrations of the Original Semites to the Gobi desert — the divine 
leaders abdicate — origin of free-will and responsibility — 301; the 
change from the visible leader to the invisible God — 302; the four 
steps to God — the purpose of guidance — the Original Semites; 
popular Christianity and esoteric Christianity — 303; The AlcJca- 
dians and Mongolians degenerate. 

The Aryan Epoch — races cradled in Central Asia — origin of the 
use of fire — utilitarians and the spiritually inclined — human Ini- 
tiates now our only mediators — why they do not appear publicly — 
future possibilities — 304; the four races which have preceded the 
Germano-Anglo Saxons — the United States as seed-ground for a 
new race — the Slav nations and spirituality — 305; the sixteen paths 
to destruction — Christ in the sixth epoch — the danger in patriotism 
■ — Universal Brotherhood the goal — 306. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Back to the Bible — mistake of missionary effort — 308; why 
man was put under the law— 309; effect of the Original Semites' 
disobedience in marrying — the rebels our present Jews — 310; 



530 INDEX 

avarice versus altruism — 311; Abraham the clog and fetter of the 
Jews — 312; why they were exiled and why Jesus was born a Jew 
— 313 ; how they were ' ' lost ' ' and the method of their salvation — 
314; why the lesson is particularly applicable to the "West. 

CHAPTEK XIV. 

Occult Analysis of Genesis — Genesis shows periods, revolu- 
tions, etc., in broad outline — 317; vowels in the Hebrew language 
— ^King James' Bible — translators incompetent and restricted- 
Luther's Bible in Germany and other protestant countries — fanat- 
ical folly — 318; the Bible not written to be an open book — Paul 
asserting allegorical meaning — 319; the full truth hidden from 
multitude by Christ and Paul — the Greek Septuagint the principal 
Bible at the time of Christ and 280 years before — the Talmud — the 
Masoretic text— 320. 

The two readings of the opening sentence of Genesis — truth is 
mfny-sided — the occult value of writing without vowels and divi- 
sions of words — 322; the complementary effect of using both 
readings of the opening sentence — 322; the scientific demonstra- 
tion of the truth of the nebular theory a proof of God's activity 
in forming and preserving the universe — 323; the dual energy — 
324; the seven Creative Hierarchies — 325; why the Cherubim and 
Seraphim are not mentioned — the Elohim rest — 326; Genesis like 
an algebraical formula for creation — description of the Saturn 
Period — 327; of the Sun Period — how it is scientifically possible 
to have light before the creation of the Sun and Moon — the Moon 
period — the atmosphere of fire-fog — 328. 

The Earth period — recapitulations — 329; The Polarian Epoch — ■ 
the mineral stage — ^spirals within spirals — The Hyperborean 
Epoch— the plant stage — the separation from the Sun— 330; the 
casting off the Moon — 331; The Lemurian Epoch — creation of 
fishes, reptiles and birds — agreement with science — it was FOEM; 
not ' ' LIFE ' ' that was created — ' ' nephesh ' ' an important word — 
The Atlantean Epoch — mammals and man are created — male and 
female — why the hermaphrodite and asexual stages are not men- 
tioned — a syllable showing that man has been on earth previous 
to this present time — 332; The Aryan Epoch — the Elohim rest and 
the work of man commences. 

The so-called discrepancies between the first and second crea- 



INDEX 531 

tion-stories — Eloliim and Jehovah — 333; Jehovah and his mission 
in evolution — Angels and Archangels — ^lichael, the race spirit of 
the Jews — why Jehovah ''choose" the original Semites — 334; the 
truth about ' ' Egypt ; ' ' the ' ' red sea ' ' and the ' ' wilderness ' ' and 
the "promised land" — where the "lost" tribes are — 335; how 
man has come on earth both first and last — 336. 

Involution — evolution and epigenesis — 337; man a creator; not 
an imitator — Caspar Wolf and epigenesis — 338; Haeckel and 
epigenesis — the necessity for epigenesis — 339; degeneration and 
its cause — the "missing link" — 341; fossils — the stones and 
flowers of the past — hornblende, feldspar and mica — 343 ; embry- 
ology a key to a knowledge of the past — the second story of the 
creation of man — 344; the word "nephesh" in another dress — 
345; why it was necessary to give two creation stories so seem- 
ingly different — the differentiation of the sexes — 346. 

The "rib" story and common sense — 347; why Jehovah blew 
into Adam's nostrils — no sudden processes in nature — 348; the 
soul in the blood — 349 ; origin of nations — the Eace spirit ; pa- 
triotism and nostalgia — 350; reason for surnames and the affix 
"son" — Christ as emancipator— priority of the individual to 
tribe and nation — 351; subordination of the individual to race or 
family — 352: endogamy and its effect on consciousness — marrying 
in the "clan" the gypsies — why the Alkings mixed blood — 353; 
endogamy the cause of ' ' second sight ' ' — why the sons of God 
did wrgng to marry the daughters of men — endogamy prohibited 
and exogamy enforced by law — 354; the effect of inter-tribal and 
international marriages — 355. 

Why hybrids cannot propagate — Why the Race God like the 
Group-spirit are "jealous" and visit the sins of the fathers on 
the children — 357; the necessity for selfishness — 358; interna- 
tional marriages as a factor in evolution — the four causes of man 's 
present disbelief in the existence of spiritual worlds — 359; Christ 
superceding the race spirit — the * * Fall ; ' ' the backbone of popular 
Christianity — 360; division of the sex-force — the Lucifers as "ser- 
pents ' ' — why they spoke to the woman and ifot to man or both — 
solving a dilemma — 361; the unconscious and conscious creative 
act, the tree of knowledge — 362 ; eating of tree of life would have 
been a greater calamity — 364; the cost of the brain, speech and 
free-will — the abolition of sex — 364. 



532 INDEX 

CHAPTEE XV. 

Christ and His Mission— Esoteric Christianity; the future 
World religion — the evolution of religion — a wrong conclusion — 
367; the survival of the fittest and the law of sacrifice — 368; 
music as a builder and destroyer — finding the keynote — 369; the 
origin of altruism and the cause of its growth — 370; fear and 
avarice as educators in love — 371; faith as a factor in life — sac- 
rifice of bullocks compared to the Christian life — 372; vicarious 
atonement as a substitute for Eebirth and the law of Conse- 
quence — 373; Jesus Christ the only begotten — 374; Jeliovah; 
Christ and the Father; who? — 376; the vehicles of some of the 
creative hierarchies — 377. 

The immaculate conception — 378; a mistaken idea — the Es- 
senes; the Pharisees and the Sadducees — Why the Christ needed 
the body of Jesns—S79; why Jehovah can be only the God of 
nations — 380; the effect of esoteric training — 381; Christ- Jesus 
ufiique among Gods and men — why he is the only efficacious me- 
diator — 382; more reasons why Christ appeared as a man and 
not as divine — All previous religions based on Law — Christianity 
abrogates Law; exalts Love — All previous religions point to **one 
who is to come" — 383; abrogation of national separation for 
the Universal Brotherhood — 384; Christianity alone waits for 
Christ to come AGx'^.IN — 386; the Church owned by state or party 
— visit to a state church in Europe — a minister decorated with 
orders by the king — his prayer for army and navy. 

Why Christ came to bring a sword — 387; the meaning of the 
worship of the three wise men — the star of Bethlehem — 389; the 
mission of Christ — the spiritual force of the sun — its ebb and 
flow — the blazing star in the holy night — 390; more about the 
sword Christ brought — ^why it is hard for the true Christianity to 
forge ahead — 391; the sword and the wine-cup; the perverted 
cross and communion-cup — their misuse as weapons of desolation. 

Why Christianity has been the bloodiest religion on earth — 392; 
divorce of head from heart — 393; the use and abuse of the mind — 
the war between the higher and the lower iiature — mind bound up 
in desire — 394; the fear of God vs. the desire of the flesh — 395; 
the meaning of the cross-stripes on the heart — a puzzle to the 
scientists — 396; the effect of the heart becoming a voluntary 
muscle — the strongholds of the spirit in the body — 397; how the 



INDEX 533 

post-mortem panorama is made during life — why good impulses 
are associated with the heart — the first thought and reason — 398; 
more effects of voluntary heart-action — the effect of occult train- 
ing on the cross-stripes on the heart — 399. 

How to know the true teacher — the mystery of Golgotha — the 
philosophy of vicarious" atonement — 400; the sixteen paths to de- 
struction — the law of Consequence and rebirth not adequate in all 
cases — 401; Avhy it is not a coward's doctrine — 402; how Christ 
took away the sin of the world— 403; effects of Law on the desire 
body; and of Love on the vital body — 404; the chosen few; and 
whosoever Avill — Levites and Brahmins — why Jesus was not a 
Levite — 405; Buddha, Moses and Christ — 406; the darkness and 
the rending of the veil of the temple — how the blood of Christ 
cleanses — 407; the spear and the cup — the holy Grail — Knights of 
the round table — Druids and other mysteries — the work of Jesus 
after Christ had died at Golgotha — 409. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Future Development anj) Ixitiation — The seven World- 
periods; the days of the week and mythology — 411; the 777 in- 
carnations explained — 412; the world-periods — Initiation and the 
caduceus — 414; the purpose of evolution — 415; the 13 steps from 
man to God — 416; the lesser mysteries and the great initiations — 
objective consciousness — 417; self-conscious picture-consciousness 
— 418; creative self-conscious picture-consciousness — 419; the 
length of time of the different periods — 421; future development 
of the vehicles of man — perfection of the dense body — its quintes- 
sence — perfection of the vital body in the Jupiter period — the per- 
fected desire body and its spiritual essence — the conscious soul 
absorbed in the Jupiter period — 422 ; the intellectual soul absorbed 
by the life spirit — the emotional soul absorbed in the Vulcan 
period — the development of the mind — 425 ; a living and a feeling 
mind — 426; man's present work with the minerals — ^work with the 
plants in the Jupiter period — work with the animals of the Venus 
period — ^work with the humanity of the Vulcan period — 428. 

CHAPTER XVn. 

The Method of Acquiring First-Hand Knoavledge — All have 
the tools— 430 ; sharpening the tools — the bank account — social 



534 INDEX 

position, etc., as measures of a successful life — 431; the lap-dog 
and the homeless cur — 432; the power of speaking in a foreign 
tongue — the union with the holy spirit — speaking with tongues no 
maudlin nonsense; but sensible conversation — Count St. Germain 
and foreign tongues — 433; the reason for praying — no selfish 
prayers — 434 ; the Lord 's prayer — the Religion of the Holy Spirit ; 
the Religion of the Son and the Religion of the Father — 435; the 
present strife for emancipation in all countries — 436; why Hindu 
methods are unsuitable to the western aspirant— 437 ; the Alchem- 
ists and occult science — ^the Rosierucians and the philosopher's 
stone. • 

All training is individual — septenary division of occult schools — 
438; the particular reason for the Rosicrucian method of develop- 
ment — 439; logic the surest guide— the place of faith — i40; effect 
of training on the different vehicles — 441. 

The Science of Nutrition — the embryo — the fcetus — childhood, 
age and death marked by different stages of consolidation — 442; 
th^ blood ?s a carrier of both life and death — 443; calcareous mat- 
ter in the food — excretion as a savior — 444; water; the worst 
enemy of man — Harvey's definition of health and disease — dis- 
tilled water man's greatest boon — 445; why flesh-food is to be 
avoided — 446; the ethical crime of forcing men to butcher — milk 
as a food — sugar — 447; fruits and vegetables. 

The folly of taking up a vegeterian diet in a haphazard way — 
448; appearance not an index to health — the chemistry of food — 
449; the amount of food required— table of food values — 450; 
phosphoric acid as a brain-food — 453; the gist of the argument — 
why some religions prescribe washing as a religious exercise — why 
fastings are beneficial at times — 454; temper as a destroyer of the 
body — the mission of the white blood-corpuscles — even tempera- 
ment as a factor in health — the comparative effect of the endo- 
skeleton and the exoskeleton as factors in consciousness — 456. 

The Law of assimilation — 457; why plant food stays a long 
time in the body — why meat-diet requires more meals and greater 
quantities than the vegetarian diet — 458; the greatest argument — 
459; greed the cause of cruelty — sport the worst outrage — i61; 
protection given to worthless animals — the Lord's prayer has a 
bearing upon each of the 7 vehicles of man — 462. 

The unused sex-force as a factor in spiritual growth— ^the prolific 
generation among the lower classes — 467; restriction among the 



INDEX 535 

higher class— the duty of perpetuating the race — duty in regard 
to others — 468; a good division of life — the time for spiritual ad- 
vancement — 170; marriage does not give unlimited license — the 
only legitimate use of the sex-force — abandonment of individual 
rights and the law of Consequence — 471; the pituitary body and 
the pineal gland — 473; the sense centers of the desire body and 
the rotation of the earth — comparison of mediums and trained 
clairvoyants — unselfishness a prerequisite — danger to the commu- 
nity in abuse of power — 474; how to know the trained clairvoyant 
— 475; the building of transmuted sex-currents — how they work — 
the bridge to the unseen worlds — 476. 

Necessity for training — the difference between seeing the inner 
worlds and functioning in them — a new vehicle — hoAv it is built 
— 480; the similarity between the states of concentration and sleep 
and the difference — to be lost in a book — acquiring the faculty of 
becoming lost; independently, at will — 483; memory of experiences 
in the desire world — confused and logical dreams — a means of 
verifying supposed experiences — 484; facility for travel in the de- 
sire body — the exercises for evolving the higher senses — the time 
to practice — 485. 

Concentration: Imagination and Illusion — 486; imagination the 
basis of all our improvements — the effect of focussing the thought 
— objects for concentration — 487; description and example of con- 
centration — Indian fakirs' tricks and concentration— 488 ; the 
vacuum and its effect — Meditation defined and described — example 
of exercise — observation as a factor in development — 489; defective 
sight as a hindrance — 492; drawing conclusions from observations 
— constructive and destructive criticism and their effects — why we 
should look for the good in everything — 493; Contemplation; 
definition and description — 494; Adoration — persistence — 496. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

The Constitution of the Earth and Volcanic Eruptions — 
The different strata and Initiation — comparing occult and modern 
science methods — 498; the number 9 in microcosm and macrocosm 
— 499; Mineral stratum — Vapor stratum — 503; Seed stratum — the 
question * ' how did life originate '? ' ' should be ' ' how did inanimate 
objects originate?" — 504; Fiery stratum — Eefracting stratum — 
506; Atomistic stratum — Material expression of the Earth spirit — 



536 INDEX 

Center of being — 507; Volcanic craters — Immorality as a factor — 
508; list of eruptions of Vesuvius — nine eruptions in the 1600 
years of dark ages — nine in the 300 years of modern science ma- 
terialism — five in the last 51 years — 510; the elder Pliny and his 
effect on modern times — 511 ; occult teachings of the past as veri- 
fied by modern science — 512. 

CHAPTEK XIX. 

Christian Kosenkreuz and the Order of Rosicrucians — The 
founder of the order — 515; the significance of the name — 516; the 
symbolism of the Kosy Cross; the philosopher's stone — 517. 



o<^'i>^ 




COD 







\i.^eTCuz'^J^ai 






NEGATIVE 



POSITIVE 




GPOUP NO. 



I 



COMBINING CAPACITY 



R^O 



D O 



R^O^ 



R 02 



R. H» 
Ra O-^ 



OS 



R 

R2 



ATOMIC .WEIGHT 



L 1.7 



GL.s 



B.10.9 



C. 12 



N. 14 



O. 16 



FL19 



DENSITY 



N a 

o.sr 



Mg 
1.7-5 



2.49 



2.65 



2?06 



R 

1.84- 



Ce. 



AS ABOVE, OR BELOW. 



The world, the man and Die atom are governed by the same 
law. Our dense earth is now in its 4th stage of consolidation. 
The mind, the desire body and the vital body are less solid than 
our 4th vehicle, the dense body. In the atomic weight of the 
chemical elements there is a similar arrangement. The 4th 
group marks the acme of density. 



TABLE OF VIBEATIOXS 



1st 

2d 

3d 

4th 

5th 

6th 

7th 

8th 

9th 

10th 

loth 

20th 

25th 

30th 

35th 

40th 

45th 

46th 

47 th 

48th 

40th 

50th 

51st 

57 th 

5Sth 

50th 

60th- 

61 St 

62a 



WHOSE EFFECTS ARE RECOGNIZED AND STUDIED. 

Number of Vibrations 
per second. 

Octave 2 

4 

8 



..16 
. .32 
. .64 
128 



2.56 f 
,512 I 
. 1,024 
32,768J 



Sound. 



1,047,576 Unknown. 

33,554.432 ) 

1,073,741,824 <> Electvicitv. 

34,359,738,368 ) 

1.099,511,627,776 I T^r,t^^„-„ 

;55,184,372,088,832 ( Lnkno^^n. 

70,368,744,177,644 

140,737,468,355,328 [-Heat. 

281,474,979,710,656 

562,949,953,421,312 

1.125,899,906,842,624 

, . . . 2,251,799,813,685.248 1 mknown 
, . 144.115,188,075,855.872 J ^nKnown. 
, . 288.230,376.151,711,744i 

. 576.460,752,303,423,488 I 
. 1.152,921,504,606,846,976 fX-Rays. 

2,305,843,009,213,693,952j 
. 4,611,686,618,427,389,904 Unknown. 



Light. 
Chemical Rays. 



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